By Fredrick Odiero
Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) stakeholders and the vice chancellors of four universities in the country have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Centre of Excellence in Health Education and Training (CEHET) headquartered at Kisii University.
CEHET will be a regional hub for healthcare research and innovation and training of advanced level medical personnel for Kenya and other Eastern African countries.
Partner universities will collaborate to promote special health care and research in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
It will also deal with ailments such as Malaria, HIV /AIDS, sickle cell disease, mental health and substance abuse, community health infectious diseases and respiratory diseases.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) will fund Shs 30 billion into the project.
Vice Chancellors Professor Isaac Kibwage (Egerton University), Professor John Akama (Kisii University), Prof. Julius Nyabundi (Maseno University) and Prof. Solomon Shibairo (Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology) together with governors Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega), James Ongwae (Kisii County), Anyang’ Nyong’o (Kisumu County) and Cornell Rasanga (Siaya County) signed the memorandum at Ciala Resort in Kisumu county.
Present during the signing of the MoU was Health PS Susan Mochache and Victor Nyagaya, the Chief Executive Officer of LREB.
Health PS Mochache said that the health ministry acknowledges the commitment of the LREB counties and the universities involved.
‘This project will be a catalyst for transformative healthcare service delivery not only in the Lake Region but the entire country. Through it, counties will offer better services and we will be poised to offer medical tourism to our East African neighbours, “she said.
Governor Oparanya, the chairman of LREB, said that the project will ensure sustained human resource development in the health sector hence bring sustainable service delivery.
‘I applaud the collective efforts of everyone in initiating the Kenya UK Health Alliance (KUKHA) MoU and the leadership of Kisii County in the health pillar. I give our blessings as LREB and assure the team of our continued support,” he said.
Governor Ongwae, who is also the vice chair of the Council of Governors, urged everyone to commit their energies into actualizing cooperation in establishing CEHET, sustainable and quality health services delivery as well as knowledge exchange and research for mutual benefit.
‘This project will help stem medical tourism to other countries and have a great impact on the local economy, ” he said.
Kisii VC Prof Akama said that the project will be a game changer in Western Kenya and the East African region and that it will develop innovation and research in healthcare and improve quality of services offered in the region and be a key pillar in the Kenya realization of vision 2030.
‘We shall attract students from the whole of the East African region.’ He said.
The project is part of the Kenya UK Health Alliance (KUKHA) project that was signed by Kenya and the UK on 29th July 2020 in London.
KUKHA brings together Kenya and UK institutions amongst them universities, teaching hospitals and research institutions collaborating on health. It also provides a platform for bilateral knowledge exchange and capacity improvement.
Kisii University has set aside 65 acres of land to house a hospital campus with a 1,000 bed capacity hospital, a comprehensive research centre, theatres, laboratories and schools of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, biomedical sciences and nursing.
It will collaborate with the best hospitals and doctors in the world as well as exchange students and lecturers and research protocols between Kenya and UK.
Once the pilot has been successfully implemented, the programme will be rolled out to other counties to realize the Universal Health Care agenda.
In July 2021, University of Manchester Vice President Prof Graham Lord, Dr Richard Cowan of Christie Hospital, John Wareing of the University of Manchester Foundation Trust and Kenya’s High Commissioner to UK Manoah Esipisu signed the Kenya UK Health Alliance (KUKHA) MOU.
One main objective of KUKHA is to set up an oncology centre of excellence at the Kenyatta University Teaching Research and Referral Hospital.
‘We shall work together to develop a resilient and flexible multi-professional health workforce with strong inter professional working skills capable of dealing with the rising incidences of Non-Communicable Diseases. This will be a financially self-sufficient centre through recruitment of overseas students.’ Prof Graham said.
