Samburu Country Referral Hospital: Back in 2022, Samburu County experienced the hardest drought in two decades. Both grass and animals were dying off and tribal conflict escalated due to hardships imposed by the drought. Despite the increasing trauma cases, patients waited only three days or less for SIGN Surgery. Within a week of their injury, patients were out of the hospital and back to their lives. As of April 2025, Samburu County Referral Hospital has helped 315 people return to their livelihoods thanks to SIGN.
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital: Founded in 1917, MTRH has undergone multiple expansions and has become Kenya’s second-largest public hospital, serving an area of 26 million people. Patients travel 6, 12, or even 24 hours to reach the hospital. SIGN Surgeons at MTRH are busy, keeping up with an increase of patients due to the rise of road accidents. Since becoming a SIGN Program, MTRH has helped more than 3600 people walk again.
St. Orsola Hospital: From the capital city of Nairobi, head four hours northeast and you will find St. Orsola Hospital Matiri. Since August 2019, the SIGN Program has grown into the busiest location in Kenya, operating seven days a week to meet the needs of the community. In early 2024, a strike closed public hospitals for nearly two months. Because St. Orsola is a mission hospital, they were able to stay open and care for an influx of patients. More than 1600 people have received SIGN Surgery at St. Orsola since the program began.
Dr. Daniel Sciuto (second from right) is the SIGN Program Manager at Samburu County Referral Hospital, a member of the SIGN Board and the SIGN Clinical Advisory Committee. Dr. Sciuto began his time in Samburu County studying infectious diseases. As time went on, he noticed an overwhelming number of trauma patients. This observation led Dr. Sciuto to seek a partnership with SIGN to provide quality fracture care to the people of Samburu County.
Dr. Giuseppe Gaido (left) has established an impressive program for treating complex orthopaedic cases for the poorest of Kenya’s patients. With SIGN, Dr. Gaido can perform surgery for most of his patients within 24 hours of their arrival. He notes this is a “massive improvement” over the nonsurgical options for fracture care. Faster treatment means faster patient recovery with less likelihood of infection or other complications. Always humble, he credits his successes in becoming a better surgeon to the ongoing support from SIGN.
Dr. Geofrey Ngetich is the first SIGN sponsored surgeon to complete a one-year spine fellowship at Hamilton General Hospital and McMaster University in Canada. He has now returned to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital to spearhead their spine care center.