An image of a sick man lying on a bare metallic bed while on drip was posted online on the 25th of February 2020 with the claim that it was taken at Homa Bay Referral Hospital. The post has been reshared many times already.
50 Plus Years later after independence.
This is Homabay referral hospital. My love for Kenya will never fade. pic.twitter.com/nMujerrqwG— KING KAKA (@RabbitTheKing) February 25, 2020
Background
Public healthcare facilities in Kenya have grappled with issues of being understaffed, poorly equipped, lacking supplies and doctors/nurses striking, yet a majority of Kenya’s population receives healthcare services from the public hospitals.
In May 2018, the county government of Homa Bay held a groundbreaking ceremony after striking a public-private partnership to upgrade the county referral hospital to level 6 with a 210-bed capacity in order to offer better medical services.
According to reports, the project, which was to be completed within 12 months has since stalled.
In March 2019, the hospital also made the news as being chocked in debt and lacking in facilities making it difficult for patients to survive.
But is the situation as dire as the image being circulated makes it seem?
Verification
A quick reverse search shows that the image has been used online as far back as March 2019. The earliest trace we could make, that ties with that timeline, is of a user posting on social media platform Instagram reportedly taken at a hospital in Nigeria.
The same image has also been used in various other unrelated contexts that are false.
Verdict
The picture is not from Homa Bay Referral Hospital and the claim is therefore FALSE.
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