Abstract:
The world watches in bewilderment as the US Senate fumbles all its attempts to revise the American healthcare system and erase former President Obama’s legislative legacy.
Make no mistake about it, American healthcare exists in a state of chaos. Where can one go for the best specialist care in the world? Where can one also see the some of the largest proportions of formal sector wage earners still unable to afford any healthcare at all? Which country subsides as the only “developed” nation that fails to guarantee medical care as a basic human right through socialised health coverage for its entire population? These contradictions sadly all point to the same nation: the US.
How can Kenya capitalise on the medical turmoil on the other side of the world? Enhance its medical innovation cluster focus on making Kenya, and Nairobi in particular, a global healthcare hub. While Kenyan healthcare is by no means perfect and the sector strikes highlight some of the major issues, we still dominate the region with the citizens of neighbouring nations and beyond flocking to our private hospitals, surgical units, and specialist consultants.
Various medical hubs exist in the world. Minneapolis, Cleveland, Chennai, and Bangkok all immensely benefit from specialised medical tourism. Up and coming medical hubs include our very own Nairobi as well as Dubai and Mauritius. Kenya carries most specialties of medicine and retains relatively high quality of medical education. Highly skilled doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and administrators fill our landscape. Drugs, specialised tests, and consultant visits in Kenya all stand at a fraction of the price of America.
