When a medical emergency strikes, seconds matter. Whether it is a road traffic crash, a heart attack, a stroke or a pregnant woman with severe bleeding, the difference between life and death often depends not only on how close a patient is to a hospital, but also on how quickly and effectively the emergency healthcare system responds.

 According to BMJ Global Health, 2026 approximately 93.7 per cent of Kenyans can reach an emergency department within one hour and 98.2 per cent within two hours.

An indicator of progress in expanding geographic access to emergency medical care. However, access alone does not guarantee survival. Response time, quality of care and system readiness are often what determine patient outcomes. At a recent Emergency Medicine Forum held at the Aga Khan University in Nairobi, one message emerged clearly: Kenya must shift its focus from simply improving access to healthcare facilities to building a coordinated, responsive emergency healthcare system that saves lives.