Kenya and France are set to sign a bilateral agreement to boost healthcare industry relations in areas of manufacturing, research and innovation.
This, after the Kenya Healthcare Federation (KHF) and the French counterpart, agreed to accelerate the delivery of affordable quality healthcare services locally.
Last year, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade, Kenya imported French pharmaceutical products valued at $29.11 million with better growth prospects as KHF and FHF continue to foster relations.
KHF chairperson Kanyenje Gakombe said the federation is working closely with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to boost bilateral relations for the local healthcare sector players.
"KHF is committed to expanding networking opportunities for local healthcare players by providing linkage platforms with our global counterparts. These linkages, we believe, will positively impact local health outcomes," Gakombe said.
Similar sentiments were aired by the federation's CEO Anastasia Nyalita who said the two organisations would also focus on capacity-building programmes to boost trade balances.
Several health bodies and hospitals are scheduled to attend the French Healthcare Innovation and Business Forum scheduled in Paris on September 19 and 20.
"Our engagement with FHF underscores this commitment to expand our collaborative engagements with like-minded Health Federations globally. We appreciate the government's support in all our international ventures,'' Nyalita said.
While confirming the engagements with KHF, the French Healthcare Federation Executive Director, Johanna Lerfel, said the bilateral partnership will unlock mutual high-value opportunities for more than 270 FHF members and more than 160 KHF members.
The two organisations will formalise their collaboration in September at the Paris forum.
The forum is a Business-to-Business (B2B) event dedicated to developing international relations with the French Healthcare ecosystem by connecting over 30 French organisations with over 100 global executives and decision-makers.
The goal is to build collaborations and foster synergies between the participants to improve healthcare internationally.
The local healthcare sector imports a range of pharmaceutical products from France, including medicines, dental solutions, vaccines, surgical tools, and consumables.