Kenya will from Friday host a local healthcare manufacturing expo and conference.
The two-day expo is expected to take place on Friday and Saturday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.
The expo will be held under the theme ‘Spurring local manufacturing for the supply of affordable and quality essential health products and technologies towards achieving UHC goals’.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Health, the Expo is designed to showcase the remarkable capacities of the local manufacturing sector, specifically in the production of a wide range of health products.
“The expo offers a unique opportunity for health service providers, consumers, and all stakeholders to directly interact with local manufacturers,” read part of the statement.
The government has in the recent past emphasised the need for local manufacturing as a key intervention in ensuring access to affordable healthcare by citizens and at the same time attaining Universal Health Coverage.
The Manufacturing Exhibition will bring together local manufacturers, traders, service providers and consumers for two days of insightful conversations about locally manufactured Health Products and Technologies (HPT).
It will also bring together a diverse range of participants, including government ministries, departments, agencies, private sector players, development partners and civil societies.
Attendees will have a chance to learn where and how to access locally manufactured HPT reinforcing the ‘Buy Kenya, Build Kenya’ initiative.
The objectives of the expo are to promote confidence in locally manufactured health products and technologies among service providers, traders and consumers.
“The key objective is to generate solutions that feed into revamping local manufacture of health products and technologies towards actively shaping and co-creating markets.”
It also seeks to demonstrate the importance and contribution of health products and technologies towards UHC and demonstrate government's political will to advance UHC agenda through locally manufactured products.
Over the years, the Ministry has embraced several policy changes aimed at achieving equitable, affordable, accessible and quality health care for all.
This has been realised through increased investment in human resources for health, service delivery, quality assurance and standards, health information research, monitoring and evaluation and health financing.
