NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, January 16, 2017

India has pledged to support Kenya to improve its healthcare, despite not responding to the government’s attempt to hire doctors from the country. President Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led their delegations in bilateral talks geared towards improving cooperation between Kenya and India.

After the talks, Modi said India is more than willing to “encourage” investors to explore opportunities in Kenya in key areas, including health.

“We want, and will encourage, industry and business in both countries to take the lead in exploiting opportunities in healthcare, tourism, information technology, agriculture, the blue economy and energy,” he said.

In health, Modi said a Bhabhatron machine has been delivered to the Kenyatta National Hospital for cancer treatment. This is a machine developed by Indian scientists. Modi said training of Kenyan doctors is being undertaken under the India-Africa Forum Summit initiative.

The two leaders agreed that India would support the building of a specialised cancer treatment hospital in Nairobi to serve Kenya and East Africa. Kenya has indicated that it will hire doctors from abroad, specifically Cuba and India, to replace medics who have been on strike since December 5, 2015.