One of Asia's fastest-growing healthcare companies
has opened a 5,300-square-foot multi-speciality clinic and diagnostic centre in Nairobi.
The centre by Columbia Asia, its first in Africa, will offer
affordable, modern and efficient healthcare at Park Place off Limuru Road in Parklands.
Operating under the name 'Columbia Africa', it will specialise in family and internal medicine, pediatrics, gynaecology, general surgery, orthopedics, ophthalmology and dental care.
Health checks and tele-medicine will also be offered, allowing patients to consult with specialist doctors at Columbia Asia hospitals.
The company has 27 hospitals and a clinic in India, and other facilities in Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia.
The Nairobi facility has a services centre for patients travelling for surgery at Asia hospitals which had been receiving a significant number of patients from East Africa.
The
$2.5 million (Sh253
million clinic) was opened last Monday
in the city with more than three million people and is experiencing a surge in foreign investment.
“Africa has become a growing market for us as patients are increasingly seeking multi-specialty, affordable healthcare services delivered at international standards,” said
Columbia Asia group CEO
John Northen.
“Kenya is the economic, commercial and logistical hub for all of East Africa, with Nairobi as a major centre of growth and foreign investment, so the city was a great fit for our first Columbia Africa facility."
Columbia Asia opened its first hospital in Malaysia in 1996 and became one of the largest healthcare companies in Asia in a span of two decades.
With the addition of the Columbia Africa clinic, the company has 10,000 employees serving more than 2.5 million patients a year, with 2,200 beds across 27 hospitals and two clinics.
The healthcare burden has seen many Kenyans travel to countries such as India and the United States for treatment. Facilities, including Kenyatta National Hospital, lack sufficient equipment, and treatment at private hospitals is expensive.
Efforts for a turnaround include President Uhuru Kenya's expected visit to Cuba later this year, as Kenya seeks to align its healthcare system to the Caribbean country’s.
Also read: