President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday pleaded with Kenyans to welcome the 100 Cuban specialists who depart for various counties on Thursday.
Uhuru explained that the specialists' services were much needed to fill gaps in local health centres as he asked Kenyans to fully embrace them.
"The 100 Cuban doctors specializing in cardiology, nephrology and neurosurgery, amongst other specializations, are now ready to move to the counties and I am delighted to formally send them off to deliver the much-needed services to the people of Kenya. Let us embrace and support them," he stated.
The President reiterated that the plan which also involves sending 50 Kenyan doctors to Cuba for specialist training would greatly improve local capacity, in spite of opposition from the local doctors' union which has demanded that the government first hire over 1,200 unemployed Kenyan doctors.
"Our doctor-to-patient ratio of 1 doctor to every 16,000 Kenyans remains an obstacle towards achieving Universal Healthcare Coverage. Local specialists are few and far between, yet their services are in high demand in the country.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta holds a baby while launching an immunization drive in Nairobi on 27/06/2018"]
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"The bilateral agreement between Kenya and Cuba will, therefore, enhance health collaboration in specialized service provision and also build the capacity of our local doctors," Uhuru noted.
He was speaking at the launch of a campaign which targets to immunize 400,000 children in 100 days.
Cuba's ambassador to Kenya Ernesto Gomez Diaz, who was also present at the event, asserted that the deployment of the doctors would play a big role in strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.
He stated that the Cubans would learn from their local counterparts as they shared their expertise and experiences.
Isiolo Governor Mohamed Kuti praised the deployment as an ideal example of co-operation between the national and county governments.
"The successful deployment of the Cuban doctors to the Counties and the official roll out of the immunization campaign signals a new era of a mutually beneficial relationship between the national and county governments," he stated.
Below is a map depicting how the specialists will be spread across the country.
