Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has sought enhanced cooperation with the State of Kuwait to support the implementation of Taifa Care, accelerate digital health reforms and strengthen local pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The Cabinet Secretary made the appeal during a courtesy meeting with the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to Kenya, Mr. Anas Talib Ali Marafi, and his delegation at Afya House in Nairobi on Thursday.
Duale reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to deepening its longstanding partnership with Kuwait. The Afya House boss described the relationship as key to advancing the country’s health sector transformation and broader development agenda.
CS Duale commended the State of Kuwait and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) for their continued support towards Kenya’s national development priorities, noting that the partnership has contributed to improving public services and infrastructure.
The Health CS briefed the Ambassador on the progress of the government’s Taifa Care reforms, revealing that 31.4 million Kenyans have so far been enrolled under the Social Health Authority (SHA).
He also highlighted the expansion of primary healthcare through more than 107,000 Community Health Promoters deployed across the country to strengthen preventive and community-based health services.
Duale said the government is also prioritising digital health transformation to improve efficiency, patient care and access to quality healthcare.
He added that Kenya is pursuing strategies to strengthen local manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, diagnostics and medical technologies to enhance self-reliance and improve access to essential medical products.
The discussions explored opportunities for collaboration in Universal Health Coverage (UHC), sustainable health financing, primary healthcare, health infrastructure, digital health, local pharmaceutical manufacturing, health workforce development, research and innovation.
The two sides also discussed strengthening cooperation in health security, pandemic preparedness, mental health services, climate-resilient health systems and the One Health agenda to better respond to emerging public health challenges.
Duale reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to building strategic partnerships founded on mutual respect, shared prosperity and sustainable development.
He said closer collaboration with Kuwait would help strengthen healthcare delivery and advance regional health security.
