The Nairobi Hospital was originally conceived in the late 1940s and built by the Kenya European Hospital Association (formed in 1950) to serve the white settler community. At the time, Kenyatta National Hospital—then known as King George VI Hospital—was unable to accommodate the growing European population following World War II.
The foundation stone for the hospital was laid in 1952, and it was officially opened in April 1954.
After independence, many colonial institutions were handed over to the Government. However, The Nairobi Hospital was not. In 1961, it opened its doors to people of all races and officially adopted the name The Nairobi Hospital.
Unlike Kenyatta National Hospital, it did not become a government hospital or public parastatal. Instead, it is owned and managed by the Kenya Hospital Association (KHA), a non-profit company limited by guarantee and not by shares.
Today, The Nairobi Hospital remains a private, non-profit institution and a premier referral centre. It is sometimes referred to as a “public hospital” only in the sense that it serves the general public and operates on a non-profit basis—not because it is government-owned.
