By Education News Reporter
Kenya has signed the Kenya UK Health Alliance (KUKHA) as part of a strategic partnership to bring together health care stakeholders in both countries to develop projects and solutions that will make Universal Health Coverage (UHC) a reality in Kenya.
Government and private officials, diaspora, policymakers, academicians, research and development institutions, senior managers, and healthcare professionals will be engaged in the relevant projects that will anchor on research programmes aligned to non-communicable diseases such as cancer.
The bilateral treaty ratified by President Uhuru Kenyatta and United Kingdom’s (UK) Prime Minister Boris Johnson will uplift the standard of healthcare for non-communicable diseases in Kenya through research, workforce training and education of healthcare professionals as part of the Universal Health Coverage initiative in Kenya.
The strategic partnership began with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Royal College of Physicians in London in January 2020. This week marks its first anniversary of the MoU, which is geared towards improving cancer screening and treatment outcomes through early detection, rapid diagnosis and the delivery of high quality care.
It resulted in the award of a significant research grant to understand the causes of aesophageal cancer in Kenya, as four Kenyan doctors travel to Manchester in the coming months to receive training at The Christie Hospital and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
The anniversary will be marked by a summit hosted by the Ministry of Education that will allow partner organizations to develop new plans that will provide the clinical services and research expertise needed to address other non-communicable diseases affecting East Africans.
Representatives of the founding partners of KUKHA, including The University of Manchester, Kisii University and Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH), will attend the summit.
KUKHA already signed an MoU in March 2022 with Kisii County to establish the Centre of Excellence for Healthcare Education & Training at Kisii University. This initiative will see the transfer of UK teaching excellence and curriculum development to Kisii University and the establishment of an education and training hub and a spoke model between Kisii University and universities within the Lake Region and Nakuru County.
The International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC) 2018 report estimated that there were 47,887 new cancer cases annually in Kenya, with a mortality of 32,987; a 29 percent increase since 2012.
The agency also highlighted that seven out of ten cancers were diagnosed late, resulting in some cancers, such as oesophageal cancer, having mortality rates of more than 99 percent.
This collaboration will directly address the UN Sustainable Development Goals by supporting the provision of Universal Health Coverage within Kenya.
Olive Mugenda, the chairperson of Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH), the leading Centre of Excellence for Cancer Research in Kenya, observed that aesophageal cancer was one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in Kenya.
“We want to reverse this figure and high quality evidenced research will tell us how. It will provide the answers to one of our biggest health challenges, so we’re delighted that with Manchester we’ve secured a research grant to learn how to improve early diagnosis of the disease and therefore improve treatment,” she said.
Susan Mochache, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health, could not agree more.
“We have chosen to work with Manchester because they are the best at what they do, and they want to partner with us in seeking real world solutions to some of our biggest health challenges,” she said.
Mr Manoah Esipisu, Kenya’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, said they chose to work with The University of Manchester, as well as the city’s hospitals, because they are the best in terms of facilities, approach partnerships with keen interest, and are enthusiastic about what they do.
