Education, skills to anchor Kenya– UK renewed health alliance
MINAYWA LABOSO -PCO
Education and skills development are the backbone of health systems, Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Ogamba declared in London as Kenya and the United Kingdom renewed their health alliance and signed a fresh five‑year memorandum of understanding at King’s College London.
Ogamba, who witnessed the signing alongside senior UK officials and Kenyan representatives, said the renewed partnership will expand access to quality healthcare by advancing investments in health workforce development, research and innovation.
He stressed that the progress achieved since 2021 demonstrates that health cannot thrive without strong education pipelines.
“Education is not the soft support act of health; it is its most essential infrastructure. It is through education that we build the human capital required to drive and sustain our health systems,” he told delegates at the opening of the 5th Kenya–UK Health Alliance Conference.
The Cabinet Secretary noted that the Alliance has mobilized more than £116 million in combined research and training investment over the past five years.
Since 2021, over 280 Kenyan nurses have qualified to globally competitive standards and are now working in the UK’s National Health Service, including placements at Oxford Radcliffe, Royal Berkshire, Royal Free London and Cambridge-East of England hospitals.
“These nurses are proof that when education and health align, opportunities open up for our professionals and our systems grow stronger,” he said.
Ogamba highlighted flagship collaborations in oncology between the Christie Foundation and Kenyatta University Teaching, Research and Referral Hospital, antimicrobial stewardship between the University of Cambridge and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, and the creation of a Centre of Excellence for Health Education and Training involving six Kenyan universities.
He said these partnerships are producing knowledge, skills and innovation that directly strengthen health systems.
He stressed that Kenya is reforming its education and training sector to implement Competency‑Based Education and Training (CBET), shifting from examinations that test knowledge to assessments that evaluate practical skills.
“Our collaboration must reposition education and training systems to respond to the demand for globally competitive healthcare professionals. We must map the health workforce pipeline, identify gaps, and co‑design curricula that align with sector needs,” he said.
The Cabinet Secretary underscored the importance of two‑way knowledge transfer, saying Kenya must not only receive expertise from UK universities and the NHS but also build capacity to produce and export knowledge.
“The goal of our Alliance must be co‑production: joint research, joint intellectual property, joint clinical innovation,” he said.
Ogamba noted that Kenya is repositioning its science and research ecosystem, citing President William Ruto’s recent granting of charters to the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the Kenya Medical Research Institute as specialized postgraduate institutions.
He said the Alliance should catalyse joint degree programmes in biosciences, public health, health informatics and medical engineering, alongside more fellowships that bring Kenyan researchers to the UK and UK researchers to Kenya.
He also called for stronger collaboration in pharmaceutical manufacturing, diagnostics and medical technologies, noting that the sector is skills‑intensive and requires highly trained professionals.
“The investment opportunity in local pharmaceutical production will only be realised if investors find a workforce capable of operating at the right standards,” he said.
He proposed three priority areas for accelerated education‑health investment under the partnership: joint investment in health professional training institutions using blended financing that combines public capital with structured private sector co‑investment.
Ogamba called for expanded scholarships and fellowships in health sciences, biomedical research and health systems management, drawing on UK university capacity; and industry‑linked research and training parks, co‑developed by UK and Kenyan universities, where health innovation, professional training and manufacturing converge.
The CS emphasised that every ambition of the Alliance from universal health coverage to pharmaceutical manufacturing rests on skills.
“Skills are not a footnote in development; they are its precondition. Skills development must therefore remain central to our partnership. Let us invest in skills development purposefully and generously. The returns will be transformational,” he said.