Kenya has called on medical equipment manufacturers and suppliers to provide long-term maintenance support, spare parts and technical training to ensure health facilities get full value from their investments.
Dr. Joe Lenai, Director of Health for Primary Health Care, Preventive and Promotive Health at the Ministry of Health Kenya, said the country needed partnerships that go beyond equipment supply to address persistent challenges affecting healthcare delivery.
Speaking on behalf of the Principal Secretary for Health Services during the official opening of the World Health Expo (WHX) Nairobi 2026, Lenai warned against the accumulation of expensive medical equipment that becomes unusable due to inadequate maintenance, unavailable spare parts, power challenges and a shortage of technical skills.
“Africa must no longer be an equipment graveyard,” he said.
Dr. Lenai urged manufacturers, suppliers and vendors participating in the expo to provide comprehensive service-level agreements guaranteeing maintenance support and the availability of spare parts.
He also called for investment in technology transfer and training for Kenyan and African biomedical engineers and technicians, alongside partnerships to establish mobile and stationary calibration laboratories.
He said such measures would help ensure medical equipment operates safely, accurately and throughout its intended lifespan.
The director urged county health leaders, clinicians and procurement officers to look beyond the initial purchase price when acquiring medical equipment, considering its total lifecycle cost, energy efficiency, maintenance requirements and training commitments.
Lenai said the expo provided an opportunity to strengthen healthcare supply chains and connect manufacturers directly with public health buyers.
He noted that about 25 countries were participating in the exhibition, showcasing medical equipment, pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products.
He singled out the participation of Indian medical technology companies, saying their growing industry offered high-quality, robust and cost-effective solutions suited to the realities of developing health systems.
Lenai also welcomed direct engagement between manufacturers and public health buyers, saying such partnerships could help reduce unnecessary intermediary costs.
The expo comes as Kenya continues to implement reforms aimed at building a sustainable, equitable and people-centred healthcare system under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Lenai said the reforms were anchored in four laws: the Primary Health Care Act, the Social Health Insurance Act, the Digital Health Act and the Facility Improvement Financing Act.
He said the government had trained, equipped and deployed more than 107,000 community health promoters across all 47 counties, with each provided with an integrated digital platform to support household-level healthcare.
The government had also established the Social Health Authority to expand access to healthcare and reduce financial barriers to essential services, he added.
However, Lenai said the success of these reforms depended on access to practical medical technologies, including reliable diagnostic equipment for community health promoters, surgical equipment and medical oxygen for rural maternity units, and functional laboratory equipment, reagents and dependable power supplies.
“Health is no longer simply a social expenditure. It is an engine of economic growth, an imperative of national security and a fundamental human right,” he said.
He urged international exhibitors and local health sector stakeholders to use the expo to build partnerships that translate into functional primary healthcare facilities, resilient referral hospitals and stronger local manufacturing capacity.
Lenai said the engagements should also contribute to a more self-reliant African health sector.
The three-day expo runs from Wednesday, September 16, to Friday, September 18, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, bringing together international delegates and exhibitors from across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
