This archive report was first published on 28 July 2019.
On July 28, 2019, the government took a significant step to address a severe shortage of medical professionals in Kenya by accrediting Mount Kenya University to offer public health programmes.
According to Dr. Kepha Ombacho, the registrar of the Public Health Officer and Technicians Council (PHOTC), the council is working on a standard curriculum for all institutions of higher learning to ensure that students receive quality training.
Dr. Ombacho praised Mount Kenya University for being the first institution in the country to adhere to all the set conditions to be accredited, saying, "We started this journey with MKU in 2010 and we are happy to report that they have adhered to all the set conditions to be accredited, the first institution in the country to achieve this fete among both public and private universities."
The university has now an opportunity to train more professionals to address the shortage, said Simon Kimani, the chairman of the Public Health Officer and Technicians Council. He noted that the country has 4,000 registered public health officers against a population of approximately 45 million citizens.
"This means that one officer is responsible for the health and safety of 11,250 citizens. This is an enormous task and hence the challenges the country is experiencing in monitoring public health," said Mr. Kimani.
A new environmental health skills laboratory at the university was also opened, and the university will offer a Bachelor of Science in environmental health programme for a period of four years.
