Duale, Ogamba launch taskforce to align health training
The Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education have launched a joint taskforce aimed at aligning health training programmes with Kenya’s national healthcare priorities.
The decision followed a high-level strategic meeting convened by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and attended by Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba.
The two ministries reaffirmed their commitment to delivering competency-based, harmonised and responsive health training systems designed to strengthen the link between education and population health needs.
In a joint statement, the ministries said the task force will map existing health training courses against the country’s disease burden and service delivery demands.
It will recommend immediate reforms and develop a clear implementation roadmap with defined milestones to ensure training outputs match national healthcare requirements.
The initiative is intended to bolster Kenya’s health workforce and support the constitutional guarantee under Article 43(1)(a), which affirms every citizen’s right to the highest attainable standard of health.
Officials described the move as a significant step toward ensuring that training institutions produce skilled professionals capable of meeting evolving healthcare challenges.
Discussions also addressed ongoing reforms under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda, including the Digital Superhighway initiative aimed at integrating health services nationwide to improve efficiency and service delivery.
“The human resources for health are the backbone of Universal Health Coverage. We therefore established a joint task force to align existing health training programmes with national priorities, recommend immediate reforms and deliver a clear implementation roadmap with measurable milestones,” Duale said.
The reforms are expected to help address concerns about unqualified practitioners within the health system while enhancing accountability and standards.
The meeting underscored that human resources for health remain the backbone of sector expansion and a shared responsibility between the health and education sectors.
Participants explored sustainable strategies to support training institutions in designing curricula that reflect Kenya’s healthcare priorities and emerging trends.
The initiative aligns with the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which prioritises equitable access to quality healthcare and accelerated nationwide implementation of UHC.
Among those present were Principal Secretaries Mary Muthoni (Public Health and Professional Standards) and Beatrice Muganda (Higher Education and Research), Director-General for Health Dr Patrick Amoth, and technical officials from both ministries.
