At least 50 Kenyan doctors are expected to leave for Cuba this Sunday to attend a specialised medical training.
The medics will be admitted to the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) in Havana.
This is in line with the MoU steered by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro in March.
ELAM is operated by the government of Cuba and is hailed as the world’s largest medical school hosting 19,550 students from 110 countries.
"Our focus is to build a strong healthcare system that meets the current challenges,"
Director of Medical Services
Jack Kioko said told the Star on the phone.
"We need to have doctors who will drive the primary healthcare, which is the central pillar in driving the Big Four Agenda."
The doctors have been on a five-day induction training at the Kenya School of Government.
"Once we have Kenyans who have trained in family medicine to address issues in disease prevention, community education empowerment, and health
promotion, it will become easy," he said.
Kenya has 2,204 active medical specialists of the 2,711 registered by the doctors’ board.
"The 50 will come back and take over from what Cubans are doing. Remember we brought a lot of family physicians," he said.
The doctors will be received by the Kenyan ambassador in Cuba Anthony Muchiri.
"As county administrators, we believe the training will have a positive impact on the health sector in the country," Kisumu communications director Alloys Ager said.
The Star established the doctors will earn Sh36,000 every month in stipends to cater for food, accommodation and their stay in Cuba.
The expenses are shared between the national and county governments.
"Up to the moment, we have not felt any challenges. It is all systems go," Kioko said.
At least 100 Cuban doctors arrived in the country in July to take up specialised roles in local hospitals across the nation.
The partnership is meant to boots Universal healthcare that is one of the four pillars that President Uhuru Kenyatta has prioritized in his second term.
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