Rashid Khalani, chief executive officer Aga Khan University Hospital. [File]
Q) As an institution whose business is in the healthcare space, what would you say of the current Covid-19 situation in the country?
I can say safely that the worst is behind us but life is not a picture; it's a movie. One scene affects the other. If you look at the last 24 months, many businesses have lost money, people lost their jobs, countries took loans; not for development but to pay other loans and salaries. It will take some time for businesses and countries to recover.
The effects are being felt today and will continue in the future as we still see some supply disruption. Now is time for developing countries like Kenya to rebuild better and stronger by ensuring self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and focus on best practice and invest in human capital and technology so we are better prepared for the next pandemic if it happens.
Q) How prepared were you for the pandemic? Do you think to some extent you were stretched beyond what you imagined a pandemic would be?
I think nobody can be prepared 100 per cent for the pandemic. No institution or country. We have seen even the industrialised world suffer and struggle.