Health Summit to take stock of Kenya's journey towards UHC

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale during inspection of KICC in Nairobi, ahead of the Health Summit. [Benard Orwongo, Standard]

Kenya is set to hold the Health Summit 2026, from August 18 to August 19, 2025.

President William Ruto is expected to attend the summit, scheduled to take place at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), in Nairobi.

Health is a key agenda of the Kenya Kwanza administration, with Universal Health Coverage (UHC) a major priority.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the summit will showcase the progress of the Government’s health reforms under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), demonstrating how a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society approach is transforming healthcare.

“We shall give numbers and data, and we will also tell the country the opportunities available to make sure universality of health of the people of Kenya is achieved,” said Duale.

“And Kenya becomes number one in Africa and globally, and the best destination hub for health tourism in our region.”

During the summit, he said, public, private, faith-based and Level Six hospitals will showcase their achievements, alongside healthcare workers, institutions and other key actors across the health sector.

Scientists will also be part of the engagement.

The Ministry, Duale said, will also highlight the challenges facing the health sector, “here we are”, and provide the country with a roadmap for the two or three years remaining under Vision 2030, as well as outline where health will be placed in the new Vision 2063.

“I want to welcome Kenyans. We shall have a conversation, we shall listen to patients, we want to listen to healthcare providers, healthcare professional associations and leaders, mama mboga, and everyone. Health is a right.”

Health of our nation has a direct correlation to productivity, education, a healthier nation, our children will go to school, our citizens will go to work, our economy will grow,” he said.

Kenya, he said, is number two in terms of health in the African continent, while remaining a hub of health in East African region.

CS Duale said key milestones at the Ministry include the digital health transformation, improved efficiency at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), whose fill rate now exceeds 90 per cent, expanded specialised services through the National Equipment Service Programme (NESP), and the onboarding of more than 32.2 million Kenyans onto the Social Health Authority (SHA).

The summit will also highlight efforts to improve maternal and newborn health through the Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere (EWENE) initiative and the planned deployment of an additional 5,000 nurses and midwives.

Primary healthcare will remain central to the discussions, particularly the role of Community Health Promoters (CHPs) in bringing essential services closer to households.

At least 107,000 CHPs have been incorporated into the healthcare system, receiving a monthly stipend of Sh5,000 with the cost shared equally by the national and county governments.

Notably, the summit will culminate in a Presidential Town Hall, giving Kenyans an opportunity to share their experiences, concerns and expectations.

It will be a moment to account for reforms delivered, listen to citizens and collectively shape the next phase of the journey towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), where health is a right, not a privilege.