General Electric to strengthen partnership with Kenyan government

American multinational General Electric company is keen on deepening its ties with the Kenyan government by exploring more areas of partnership with the new administration.

The world energy leader with interest in medical products, aviation and energy – through its subsidiary GE Healthcare – in 2020 collaborated with the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH).

The partnership saw the establishment of a first publicly-owned comprehensive Integrated Molecular Imaging Centre for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa.

On Tuesday, Alexander Oketch, GE Healthcare – Eastern Africa Projects Development Director, held a meeting with National Treasury and Economic Planning Professor Njuguna Ndung’u with a view to strengthening the ongoing fledging partnership.

Mr Oketch said GE Healthcare is keen in developing and delivering innovative solutions for healthcare challenges in Kenya including clinical development solutions, public-private partnerships and unique funding models to support long-term investment in healthcare systems.

This comes at a time when the parent firm’s board on November 30, 2022 approved the spin-off of the healthcare business.

“We are committed to deepening its relationship with the Kenyan government. As a long-standing partner to Kenya, GE has been at the center of key infrastructural projects ranging from healthcare, aviation and power across the country,” said Mr Oketch.

For his part, Prof Ndung'u said the government values the continued collaboration with GE and he looks forward to solidifying the partnership.

Latest technology

The meeting took place ahead of the inaugural United States-Africa Heads of States Summit scheduled for December 13 and 15, 2022 in Washington, DC.

The summit seeks to foster new economic engagement between the two parties by promoting food security, advancing peace and security, responding to the climate crisis, mitigating the impact of Covid-19 and future pandemics and working collaboratively to strengthen regional and global health.

GE Healthcare is expected to play a key role during the summit as the largest and most active US healthcare company on the continent.

The new development comes at a time when GE Healthcare is set to change to GE HealthCare, retaining the company’s world-famous badge and monogram while the formerly blue logo will receive a new coat of paint, dubbed “compassion purple.”

Through the KUTRRH partnership, GE Healthcare has equipped the Center with a state-of-the-art cyclotron machine, enabling the referral hospital to create its own radioisotopes imaging agents locally for use at the facility and with additional capacity to service the Eastern Africa region.

In addition, the Center is equipped with molecular imaging equipment including PET CTs to create 3D imaging of the inside of the body and help highlight areas of cell activity; SPECT CT / Gamma Camera, which helps show the blood flow to tissues and organs and can identify tumors; and a 256 slice CT and 3T Silent MRI.

This collection of the latest technology in the field will make the facility a world-class center of excellence for the region.

Cancer research

The KUTRRH cancer centre is providing lifesaving equipment along the cancer care pathway – from screening and diagnosis, to staging, to determining the correct treatments.

This is aimed at improving cancer survival rates in the country as well as enabling more cancer research to be carried out, offering the potential for KUTRRH to become a leader in cancer research in the region.

In Kenya, cancer is the third leading cause of death, after infectious and cardiovascular diseases. Current statistics show that over 40,000 new cases of cancer are detected annually in the country.

Due to the lack of diagnostic capacity for early detection, one of the most critical factors in survival rates, many patients in Kenya are being diagnosed with stage 3 and 4 cancer.

Survival rates for later stages of cancer are around 30 percent in Kenya today, compared to early detection survival rates of more than 80 percent in markets with access to advanced technology.

This center is also expected to address this challenge in particular, with the goal of bringing earlier diagnosis and increased survival rates for Kenyans.

In addition, it will reduce the cost of seeking diagnosis and treatment abroad, which can be cost prohibitive for patients and families.

It will also reduce negative psycho-social impact to patients and families that can be caused by the necessity of traveling abroad during a time of sickness.

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