Kenyan intends to keep part of its bargain with Cuba in a health agreement it signed last year which will see Caribbean doctors imported to Kenya.
The Caribbean doctors will be posted to each of the 47 counties.
According to PSCU, Health Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman who accompanied President Uhuru Kenyatta during his visit to Cuba said Kenya has an agreement with Cuba to bring in 100 medical specialists.
Kenya will also have 50 if its doctors fly to Cuba for specialized training.
In addition, said Aman, Kenya has agreed to work with Cuba on collaborative research projects, develop training for primary healthcare workers and collaborate to build capacity to undertake genetic engineering and biotech work.
Governors Anyang Nyong’o and Mohammed Ali for Kisumu and Mandera Counties backed the deal. They were part of Uhuru’s delegation.
The Cuban doctors will have to be cleared by the Kenya Medical and Dentists Practitioners Board.
In the agreement, Cuba will not only provide medical personnel but also specialists who can handle medical equipment.
Further, the agreement will “also covers participation in research and advanced trials of medicines in areas in which Kenya is vulnerable. This will be through the use of therapeutic anti-HIV and anti-prostate cancer vaccines; vaccines to control influenza and meningitis; and control of diabetic foot ulcer amputation.”
Kenya also seeks to get vaccines against ticks from Cuba in a move geared towards reduction of chemicals used in eradicating ticks on livestock.
The new partnership between Kenya and Cuba will bolster efforts by government in preventive disease management.