Kenya – The Kenyan Government has embraced a proposed initiative to develop a Centre of Excellence in Health Education and Training (CEHET) boost Kenya’s ongoing efforts to deliver quality and affordable healthcare services to all citizens.

The center to be located at Nyosia in Kisii county is being developed by Kisii University in partnership with The University of Manchester and The Christie Hospital based in the United Kingdom (UK).

Kisii University has allocated 70 acres of land under the US$260m project to house a 1,000-bed hospital, a comprehensive research centre, laboratories and schools of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, biomedical sciences.

The Centre will be a regional hub for healthcare research, innovation and training of advanced-level medical personnel as well as a joint project involving Egerton University, Maseno University and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.

The collaboration will allow partner universities to promote specialist health care along with research in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Malaria, HIV/AIDS, sickle cell disease, mental health, substance abuse among other diseases.

President Uhuru Kenyatta recently discussed the progress of the ongoing project with United Kingdom’s University of Manchester Vice President Prof Graham Lord who paid him a courtesy call at State House, Nairobi.

The Kenya-UK partnership will further strengthen the collaboration in their health sectors in the wake of sustained efforts by Kenya to advance the Universal Health Coverage.

I am convinced that taking centres of excellence outside Nairobi County will be crucial in helping us achieve our desired goals in the health sector,” reaffirmed President Uhuru.

The Head of State assured that he will also engage stakeholders in various sectors to help accelerate the initiative which will not only reduce the disease burden but also create opportunities for Kenyan youth.

The facility will be a financially self-sufficient centre through recruitment of overseas students working together with the Kisii County to develop a resilient and flexible multi-professional health workforce with strong interprofessional working skills.

He confirmed that his administration is working to align legislations and resources to accelerate implementation of the project to enhance healthcare delivery in the East African region at large

Additionally, President Kenyatta and Vice President Lord discussed the development of a comprehensive cancer care services network in the country.

Graham Lord noted that the University aimed to improve the standard of healthcare in Kenya through research, workforce training and education of health professionals.

The work will initially focus on improving cancer outcomes through early detection, rapid diagnosis and the delivery of high-quality care,” outlined Lord.

He acknowledged the significant progress made in cancer diagnosis and treatment at Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Research Hospital (KUTRRH).

He also disclosed that a GBP2.8 million (US$3.68m) grant from the UK National Institute of Health Research has been secured to finance the launch of a regional cancer training and research hub which will be managed through KUTRRH.

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