A recent global survey conducted by Numbeo-2023, a renowned research organization tracking the quality of healthcare systems worldwide, has revealed that Kenya’s healthcare system has been ranked as the second best in Africa.
The ranking is based on the system’s readiness to provide quality medical services, including modern diagnosis and treatment equipment, as well as skilled and competent medical staff.
According to the report, Kenya achieved an impressive overall healthcare index score of 61.8, positioning it just behind South Africa, which claimed the top spot with a score index of 63.7. On a global scale, Kenya secured the 51st position.
Tunisia emerged third in Africa with a score index of 57.1, commended for its possession of advanced equipment for modern diagnosis and treatment, as well as its efficiency in filling out medical reports.
This achievement surpassed other prominent African nations such as Algeria and Nigeria, which scored 53.6 and 48.5 on the healthcare index, respectively.
Kenya initiated the Universal Health Coverage pilot program in 2018, targeting the counties of Nyeri, Kisumu, Machakos, and Isiolo.
These counties were strategically selected based on the distinctive health needs prevalent among their populations.
For instance, Nyeri was chosen due to the high burden of non-communicable diseases, Kisumu due to the prevalence of infectious diseases like malaria, Machakos due to injuries associated with road traffic accidents, and Isiolo due to concerning cases of maternal mortality.
The survey highlighted Kenya’s notable strengths in the areas of skilled and competent medical staff, accuracy and completeness in filling out reports, availability of modern diagnosis and treatment equipment, convenient location for patients, and the friendliness and courtesy of the staff.
The country scored moderately in terms of the cost of treatment and response time to attend to waiting patients.
The survey also indicated an improvement in the quality of Kenya’s healthcare system compared to the mid-2020 report, where the country achieved a performance index of 55.6.
The decline in the previous report was attributed to the strain on the healthcare system caused by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Both Fitch and the World Bank have recognized Kenya as one of the fastest-growing and promising markets for medical equipment in the sub-Saharan Africa region.
