Established in 1987, close to the Sudan border and near Lokichokio town in northern Kenya, the hospital's brief was to care for victims of the conflict in southern Sudan.

During peak periods, it was the largest field hospital in the world, with a capacity of up to 700 beds.

It performed more than 4,000 operations a year – in all about 60,000 in 19 years.

It cared for 37,905 patients from Sudan; many of the patients underwent multiple operations.

Some 95 per cent of patients had to be airlifted to Lokichokio; this was one of the largest – and longest-running – cross-border, non-military medical airlifts in history.

It had two operating theatres, an intensive care and high dependency unit, a post-operative area, ten wards, physiotherapy, training and sterilisation departments, a laboratory, pharmacy, large kitchen, laundry and maintenance department.

Until March 2006, the ICRC also ran an orthopaedic workshop: it fitted more than 4,330 patients with artificial limbs, assisted over 1,960 with other appliances and provided 9,056 pairs of crutches.

Some 300 medical staff from health facilities in southern Sudan were trained at Lopiding, in various disciplines.

In July 1999, the ICRC, in cooperation with the Kenyan health ministry, opened a 23-bed medical ward at the hospital to help care for the local Kenyan population. As of June 2006, it had treated more than 5,700 patients.


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