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Uhuru to youth: Africa’s health future lies in your hands
Former president Uhuru Kenyatta.
What you need to know:
- Former President Uhuru Kenyatta urged Kenyan and African youth to prioritise innovation and capacity building in order to solve the continent's challenges, particularly those relating to healthcare.
- He emphasised that the pandemic had exposed Africa's over-reliance on the West for medical supplies, highlighting the critical need for local innovation and drug manufacturing.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has called upon the youth across Kenya and the African continent to focus on innovation and capacity building to help Africa resolve its challenges.
In a speech read on his behalf by Former First Lady Margaret Kenyatta at the Amref International University 6th Graduation Ceremony at Northlands, the former head of state hailed the role of primary healthcare in resolving Africa's healthcare challenges.
“Today marks the beginning of a lifetime of work. You are the hope of Africa’s future. In essence, Africa’s health future is in your hands. From today henceforth, policy and innovation, advanced indigenous research, primary healthcare, compassion, new technologies and all that entails to strengthen healthcare for our motherland is now your responsibility. The compass is playing waiting for your brilliance and passion. The biggest asset in Africa is its people and capacity building,” read the speech.
“As I stand here, I can remember the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country. The pandemic highlighted the importance of an efficient and effective primary healthcare system. We had to re-strategise as a country and as a continent about the importance of having our innovation, drug manufacturing facilities and laboratories. If we did have our own capability, we would not have been left at the mercy of the West,” read the speech by the former Head of State.
During the graduation ceremony, Amref Health Africa Chief Executive Officer Githinji Gitahi praised Mr Kenyatta for providing a strategic location where the university was set up.
“He was looking for something that would impact the community and I informed him about primary healthcare. We are glad we received the 50 acres of land in Northlands to set up this state-of-the-art facility that is now focused on capacity building for Africa’s future primary healthcare solution providers,” he said.
Amref International University has emerged as a critical hub for training healthcare professionals who are equipped not just with clinical skills, but with the political, policy and research acumen to lead Africa’s healthcare transformation from within.
The university was established by Amref Health Africa in 2017. It received a Letter of Interim Authority from Kenya’s Commission for University Education effective August 1, 2017, allowing it to begin operations on its initial campus along Lang’ata Road in Nairobi.
On July 9, 2022, Mr Kenyatta personally officiated the ground-breaking ceremony of the Northlands campus.
