50 Kenyan Doctors Fly to Cuba for Specialized Training at Elite Medical School

50 Kenyan medical practitioners have left the country for Cuba, where they are set to receive specialized training.

The medics will join Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), one of the most prestigious medical institutions in the world.

Their training is part of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between President Kenyatta and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro in March this year. The agreement also saw Kenya import 100 Cuban doctors to work in the country for a period of two years.

ELAM is a government-owned institution located in Havana and is said to be world’s largest medical school with close to 20,000 students from 110 countries.

"Our focus is to build a strong healthcare system that meets the current challenges," said Director of Medical Services Jack Kioko in announcing the move.

"We need to have doctors who will drive the primary healthcare, which is the central pillar in driving the Big Four Agenda. 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.

"The 50 will come back and take over from what Cubans are doing. Remember we brought a lot of family physicians," he added.

The medics will be welcomed in Havana by the Kenya's envoy in Cuba Anthony Muchiri. 100 doctors from Cuba the South American nation arrived in Kenya in July to take up specialized roles in local medical facilities across the 47 counties.

Their presence is part of President Uhuru's bid to achieve universal healthcare, one of his big four agendas for the country.