Beyond the Wheelchair: Building Sustainable Wheelchair Services in Kenya
When leaders from the Government of Kenya, rehabilitation, local manufacturing and development organisations recently came together to discuss the future of wheelchair services in Kenya, one message stood out: the conversation is no longer just about wheelchairs. It is about building a sustainable system that ensures every person who needs one can access the right wheelchair, at the right time, with the right support.
This shift in thinking is both timely and necessary.
Across the world, millions of people need wheelchairs. Yet the greatest burden falls on Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), where limited resources, underfunded rehabilitation services and fragmented healthcare systems leave many people without access to appropriate mobility. In these settings, the consequences extend far beyond mobility. Without an appropriate wheelchair and the services that support it, children miss school, adults lose opportunities to work, families face increased caregiving responsibilities, and disabled people are excluded from community life.
Kenya is no exception.
The Ministry of Health estimates that approximately 550,000 Kenyans are currently living without the wheelchair they need. Behind this figure are hundreds of thousands of individual stories—children unable to reach their classrooms, parents unable to earn a living, young people unable to pursue education, and older persons isolated from the communities they helped build.
But the challenge is not simply a shortage of wheelchairs.
Too often, wheelchair provision is still viewed as the distribution of a product. While a wheelchair may be handed over with the best of intentions, without proper assessment, prescription, fitting, user training, maintenance, repair and follow-up, it may fail to meet the user’s needs—or even cause harm.
An appropriate wheelchair is not a gift. It is a health intervention.
The World Health Organization’s approach to wheelchair service provision recognises that quality wheelchair services are as important as the wheelchair itself. A wheelchair that fits the individual, supports their posture, matches their environment and enables their daily activities can improve health, independence, education, employment and participation in society. The opposite is equally true. An inappropriate wheelchair can lead to pressure injuries, pain, deformity, reduced independence and eventual abandonment of the device.
This is why sustainable wheelchair services matter.
At Motivation Africa, we believe that expanding access requires strengthening the entire system—not just increasing the number of wheelchairs available.
Over the years, we have worked alongside the Ministry of Health, county governments, universities, hospitals, organisations of persons with disabilities and rehabilitation partners to strengthen wheelchair services across Kenya.
Our work spans the full continuum of care: training rehabilitation professionals using the World Health Organization Wheelchair Service Training Packages, supporting service delivery, mentoring wheelchair users through peer trainers, strengthening rehabilitation centres, promoting quality standards and working with partners to ensure wheelchairs are appropriate to the user’s needs, environment and lifestyle.
We also recognise that sustainability depends on local capacity.
Kenya has made encouraging progress in growing local wheelchair manufacturing and assembly. Investing in local innovation can reduce costs, shorten supply chains, create jobs and improve long-term availability of assistive products. However, manufacturing and service delivery must advance together. Producing more wheelchairs will only achieve lasting impact if those wheelchairs are supported by trained professionals, quality service delivery, sustainable financing and systems that ensure users continue to receive maintenance and follow-up throughout the life of the wheelchair.
This requires sustained investment.
It requires rehabilitation professionals with specialised skills. It requires stronger integration of wheelchair services into the health system. It requires financing mechanisms that make wheelchairs affordable for those who need them most. It requires reliable data to inform planning and policy. And it requires meaningful collaboration between government, local manufacturers, healthcare providers, organisations of persons with disabilities, academia and development partners.
Encouragingly, Kenya is moving in that direction.
The Ministry of Health’s continued leadership, together with growing investment in rehabilitation services, local manufacturing and workforce development, presents a unique opportunity to transform wheelchair provision from isolated projects into a coordinated national system that leaves no one behind.
For Motivation Africa, this vision has always been at the heart of our work.
Because success is not measured by the number of wheelchairs distributed. It is measured by the child who returns to school, the parent who can earn an income again, the young person who participates fully in community life, and the older adult who regains independence.
Every wheelchair represents possibility. But it is quality wheelchair services that turn possibility into participation.
As Kenya continues its journey towards Universal Health Coverage, strengthening sustainable wheelchair services must remain a national priority. Together, we can build a future where every person who needs a wheelchair has access not only to a product, but to the comprehensive services that unlock health, dignity, opportunity and inclusion.