Vision for the Future of the Healthcare Sector in Kenya by Sumit Prasad

Dr. Sumit Prasad, General Manager of Columbia Africa Healthcare Limited, shares his vision for the future of the healthcare sector in Kenya in the next 5 years.

“In Kenya, as in any developed country, all the services are growing. Most of the hospitals have advanced healthcare facilities available. They now have CAT labs. They are also improving PET scan capabilities, as well as radiation therapy and nuclear medicine for cancer treatment, which was previously lacking. For a population this size, the government is investing enough in all these areas. In the next five years, there will be a number of large hospitals opening here and infrastructure will become a big topic. Once that happens, the next stage is the human capital. There are many Kenyans practicing abroad who want to come back and practice here. They would get the right infrastructure backed up with the right human capital, which is important for a practitioner to be able to deliver the right quality of care. There is a lot of investment happening in education. The quality of education in nursing and paramedics is approaching a world class standard. All the pieces of the puzzle are there, they just need to be put together. There is a higher penetration of medical insurance in this country. The government is changing their own medical insurance plans and NHIF. Everything is coming together, it just takes time. It is not something that will happen overnight. Kenya will be a very strong regional hub, if not a global hub, for the healthcare scenarios in the future”, says Dr. Sumit Prasad.