WHO and Novo Nordisk Foundation partner to advance health workforce education in Kenya

Nairobi - Kenya has made notable progress in health workforce production, including a doubling of nurses, doctors, and other health professionals over the past decade. However, findings from the Health Labour Market Analysis also identify persisting and emerging gaps in the availability of health workers. The analysis projects that to meet the population's health needs, more than 114,000 additional health professionals across 31 different roles will need to be trained, employed, and retained within the health system by 2031.

To address this challenge, WHO Kenya has entered a new partnership with the Novo Nordisk Foundation through the Partnership for Education of Health Professionals flagship programme. The collaboration aims to strengthen the capacity, quality, and relevance of Kenya's health workforce in response to evolving population health needs and the country's Universal Health Coverage agenda.

Over the past five years, WHO has supported the Ministry of Health in Kenya to strengthen health workforce planning through the systematic translation of evidence into policy decisions, strategic reforms, and targeted investments. Last year, WHO AFRO launched the first-ever prototype competency-based curricula for 10 key health cadres including critical care nursing, general surgery and community health workers. The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Nursing Council of Kenya, Dr Anne Mukuna, welcomed the partnership and underscored that it will strengthen regulatory oversight by ensuring the core curriculum is competency based, thereby equipping future nurses with the competencies required for safe and effective practice.

"Competency-based education ensures our health workers are prepared to address the real health challenges communities face, from preventing and managing chronic diseases including diabetes and heart disease to delivering quality care at every level. This partnership with the Novo Nordisk Foundation helps us bridge the gap between training and population health needs," says Dr. Neema Kimambo, WHO Acting Representative to Kenya.

"Building a sustainable health workforce requires coordinated investment in education, employment, and retention. This partnership gives us the strategic support needed to create lasting change in how we train and deploy health professionals," she continued.

The partnership will support the transformation of health professions education through competency-based approaches that better prepare health workers for prevention, early detection, and management of priority health conditions. Key areas of support include curriculum reform and improved alignment between training outputs and service delivery needs at all levels of care. In addition, the initiative aims to strengthen governance and coordination mechanisms across the health workforce education ecosystem, enhance national research and knowledge translation capacity, and support the development of sustainable financing and investment mechanisms for the health workforce.

"What I appreciate about the competency-based approach is that we're assessed on whether we can actually do something, not just whether we can write about it in an exam. That's what patients need from us," says Joel Masiaga, President of the Association of Medical Students at the University of Nairobi.

"Strategic investment in health workforce education is critical to ensuring that Kenya produces confident, competent, and labour-market-ready health workers who can effectively respond to population health needs," explains Evalyne Chagina, Health Workforce Technical Lead, WHO Kenya. "The focus extends beyond increasing numbers to ensuring these professionals have the right skills for the communities they serve."

By building a skilled, responsive health workforce, the partnership aims to accelerate progress toward Universal Health Coverage, improve the quality of care, and strengthen the resilience of Kenya's health system for the future.