How to Get a Free or Subsidised Wheelchair in Kenya

By Wheelchairs Kenya · Updated June 2026 · Nairobi, Kenya

First step: register with NCPWD

Most formal support in Kenya flows through the National Council for Persons with Disabilities. Registration is free and it unlocks more than wheelchairs: assistive device support, education support, tax exemptions and access to county programmes. The process is straightforward but takes patience:

• Go to a gazetted government hospital (most county referral hospitals qualify) and ask for a disability medical assessment. A doctor examines the user and fills the assessment form.
• Submit the assessment with the national ID (or birth certificate for a child), passport photos and the application form to NCPWD, online or through their offices.
• You receive a disability registration card. Keep copies; every programme below will ask for it.

Once registered, ask NCPWD directly about their current assistive devices programme. Allocations depend on budget years, so apply and follow up rather than waiting for an announcement.

APDK: the biggest wheelchair source in the country

The Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya runs workshops that assemble and distribute wheelchairs, often at heavily subsidised prices, and they fit the chairs properly, which matters as much as the chair itself. They have branches and clinics across the country, including Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. Bring the medical assessment and disability card if you have them. Be prepared for a waiting list; demand is high.

County offices, churches and service clubs

• County social services / gender and disability offices: several counties run their own assistive device funds. Visit the county offices and ask what exists this financial year. Persistence pays here.
• Churches and mosques: many congregations fund a wheelchair when a member asks formally. A letter from your doctor with a specific chair and price makes it easy for a welfare committee to say yes.
• Rotary, Lions and similar clubs: these clubs regularly fund or import wheelchairs in bulk. Find the nearest club and write to them with the user's story, the assessment and a price quote.
• International programmes: organisations like the Wheelchair Foundation and Free Wheelchair Mission distribute through Kenyan partner churches, hospitals and NGOs. You usually reach them through a local partner, not directly, so ask hospitals and APDK who is distributing in your area.

What to prepare before you ask anyone

Every programme asks for roughly the same pack. Prepare it once and your applications move faster:

• Disability medical assessment from a government hospital
• NCPWD registration card (or proof you have applied)
• National ID or birth certificate
• A short letter explaining the user's situation and daily needs
• A written price quote for the specific chair needed. We provide quotes free on WhatsApp; a concrete figure like "KSh 25,000 for an extra wide foldable wheelchair" gets approved faster than "a wheelchair".

An honest word about donated chairs

Free chairs are usually one standard size. A donated chair that is too wide or too deep can cause the very pressure sores and posture problems it was meant to prevent, especially for children and long-hour users. If you receive a donated chair, spend the little money you saved on a proper cushion and a fitting check. We check donated chairs at no charge at our Ronald Ngala Street shop, and our sizing guide shows you what to measure yourself. And if the donated option falls through, our price guide shows what realistic budgets look like, starting at KSh 15,000.