Karen Nyamu Calls for National Conversation on Endometriosis as Natalie Githinji Battles Stage 4 

Nominated Senator Karen Nyamu has called for a national conversation on endometriosis, highlighting the case of media personality Natalie Githinji, who is currently recovering after being diagnosed with Stage IV endometriosis and is seeking financial support for treatment.

In a statement shared on social media, Nyamu said Githinji’s experience is a reminder of the many women silently battling the condition and the urgent need for a national conversation on endometriosis.

“Today, @nataliegithinji is recovering after being diagnosed with Stage IV endometriosis and is seeking financial support for treatment. Her story is another reminder of the many women silently battling this disease,” Nyamu wrote.

Nyamu traced her involvement in the issue back to June 2024, when Kenya lost celebrated reggae MC and radio presenter Jahmby Koikai to thoracic endometriosis after a long and painful battle with the disease.

On 9 July 2024, the Senate held a session honouring Koikai’s advocacy, during which Nyamu raised an alarm: Kenya did not even hold reliable statistics on how many women are living with endometriosis. “I raised concerns that Kenya didn’t even have any statistics on how many women are living with endometriosis,” Nyamu stated.

In September 2024, Parliament formally questioned the Ministry of Health about Kenya’s capacity to manage and treat endometriosis. Nyamu said the ministry’s response shocked her. “Kenya has 700 gynaecologists but only 5 are trained laparoscopic gynaecological surgeons, mainly at Kenyatta hospitals,” she recalled .

According to Nyamu, the figures shows how stretched the country’s reproductive health infrastructure is, with only a handful of specialists capable of performing the key diagnostic and surgical procedure for endometriosis .

Nyamu has also raised concerns over whether the Social Health Authority (SHA) adequately covers the real cost of endometriosis care, questioning whether the current benefit packages sufficiently meet the needs of patients with complex endometriosis.

“I will also reach out to Natalie and walk with her through this journey. This is not about politics or PR. I genuinely want to see what we can do, as a country, to bring endometriosis under control.”