Africa bears 25% of the global disease burden but has only a fraction of the world’s medical workforce. Despite producing thousands of healthcare professionals, many migrate in search of better pay, facilities, and recognition creating a crippling brain drain across the continent.
From Nigeria to Kenya, hospitals struggle with staff shortages. Training institutions like UCH and LUTH are losing trained doctors and nurses to countries like the UK, Canada, and the U.S., leaving doctor-to-patient ratios dangerously high.
However, Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Nairobi offers a hopeful model. As East Africa’s only private teaching hospital, it runs 14 specialist programs, employs 180 consultants, and operates a vast network across the region. It emphasizes training, retention, and innovation from PET scans and EHRs to region-wide CME programs, all aimed at keeping talent in Africa.
Beyond care, AKUH invests in mental health, maternal care, research, sustainability, and policy influence, setting the pace for what’s possible.
As CEO Rashid Khalani puts it: “We’re not just treating people; we’re training the next generation of African healthcare leaders.”
Let Africa heal itself, by investing in systems that keep its healers home.
