Ladnan Hospital in Nairobi shot into the spotlight after the dramatic arrest of Grace Mulei, a 61-year-old patient who stormed the Ministry of Health offices on January 15 to protest failures by the Social Health Authority (SHA). Mulei was seeking treatment at the Eastleigh-based hospital when police arrested her for allegedly causing a disturbance.
Interestingly, the founder of Ladnan Hospital, Dr. Mohamed Abdi Mohamed, also serves as the Chairperson of SHA.
Dr. Mohamed is a seasoned medical practitioner with more than 12 years of experience in both the public and private health sectors. He co-founded Ladnan Hospital in 2011 and served as CEO until March 2024. The Pangani-based facility is a 50-bed tertiary care center offering inpatient and outpatient services. It is equipped with a maternity wing, theatre, dental unit, pharmacy, laboratory, radiology unit, renal unit with five dialysis machines, and a critical care unit comprising five ICU and three HDU beds.
He holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Nairobi and a Master of Science in Health Economics and Policy from the same institution.
Dr. Mohamed began his career in 2009 at Malindi District Hospital, where he managed patients, handled admissions, and performed minor surgeries. In 2010, he joined Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) at the Dadaab Refugee Camp, where he provided emergency medical care and managed the Paediatric Unit.
In 2011, he co-founded Ladnan Hospital, transforming it into a modern tertiary facility. Over the next decade, he expanded its services to include dialysis, ICU, and HDU units and even launched a branch in Wajir to serve the pastoralist community in Northern Kenya. Between 2017 and 2019, Dr. Mohamed served as Director and COO at Metropolitan Hospital, managing the 150-bed facility after its merger with Ladnan Hospital. He spearheaded the expansion of ICU beds, upgraded theatres, and secured equity financing to support growth.
Beyond hospital management, he has held leadership roles in the Kenya Medical Association, where he chaired the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee and led initiatives on ICT, healthcare management, and ethics. He also served as the National Chair of the Kenya Association of Private Hospitals (KAPH) from 2016 to 2024, where he advocated for smaller hospitals and clinics.
Dr. Mohamed has also served as an Independent Director at Villgro Kenya, a startup incubator in healthcare, and as a Trustee of the Takaful Umbrella Fund, East Africa’s first Shariah-compliant retirement scheme. He has also represented the private sector on the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), helping regulate healthcare quality and professional standards.
In January 2024, he was appointed as an Independent Board Director of the Social Health Authority (SHA), where he offered oversight to improve healthcare access. Later that year, on September 17, 2024, President William Ruto appointed him as Chairman of the SHA Board for a three-year term.
