Editor’s note: In this opinion piece, Dr. Cheptinga K. Philip pens a national reminder to all Kenyans not as a doctor alone but as a Kenyan who was taught the same things he says they were taught in school.
The reminder
Since independence in 1963, we have been taught in our high schools, colleges, and universities about:
1. Nuclear Energy- Atoms, isotopes, reactors
2. Electron Microscopy—Cells, viruses, and matter at the nanometer level
We sat for the KCSE and answered questions on them. Our professors and teachers did their part. But 62 years later, we must ask ourselves honestly:
Where are the results in our hospitals?
The painful reality today
1. Nuclear Medicine: We import 100% of our radiopharmaceuticals. A kidney scan drug called MAG3 has a half-life of only 6 hours. Because of flight delays and customs, it arrives in Nairobi already expired. So we cancel scans. We waste KSh 800 million to KSh 1.2 billion every year. Some patients are forced to fly abroad at 5x the cost.
2. Electron Microscopy: We have ZERO clinical electron microscopes in public hospitals. If your child has a kidney disease, cancer, or a rare infection, we fix the biopsy and send it to South Africa or India. We wait 4-8 weeks. By the time the report comes back, the disease has progressed. We spend another KSh 350 million to KSh 500 million every year sending our tissue abroad.
We taught the science. But we did not build the systems to save our own people.
Why this matters to you
This is not just a “hospital problem.” This is a UHC, SHA, jobs, and dignity problem.
If we build it in Kenya: If we continue to import
Cost of a PET-CT scan:
KSh 65,000
Cost today: KSh 120,000
Cost of EM biopsy: KSh 35,000
Cost today: KSh 120,000 – 200,000
Result: Same-day or 72-hour diagnosis—Result: 4-8 weeks delay, wrong treatment.
Jobs: 250+ scientists, doctors, technologists Jobs: Created in SA, India, Europe
Forex Saved: KSh 1.5 billion+ every year – Forex Lost: KSh 1.5 billion + every year
The opportunity we have now
Under the leadership of NuPEA, IAEA, KNRA, the Ministry of Health, and our universities, Kenya now has a chance to finally do what we should have done decades ago.
Proposed Solution: 2 National Centers
1. National Research Reactor + Radiopharmacy Plant—To produce our own cancer and kidney drugs here in Kenya and export to EAC
2. National Electron Microscopy Center of Excellence- To give Kenyans definitive diagnoses for kidney disease, cancer, and outbreaks within 72 hours
Hosted in Kenya. Run by Kenyans. Serving 50 million Kenyans and 300 million East Africans.
This will create jobs, save forex, cut the cost of SHA, and position Kenya as the medical and science hub of Africa.
My humble appeal to all of us
- To Government: Please prioritise this as a flagship UHC project in the 2026/2027 budget.
- To Parliament and County Governments: Help us site these centers and support training.
- To the Private Sector: Partner with us. Government as anchor client.
- To Fellow Kenyans: Demand this. This is about your mother’s cancer scan. Your child’s kidney biopsy. Your neighbor’s treatment.
Isaiah 43:19—”Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it?”
We cannot keep teaching our children about technology that we refuse to build for them.
The time for speeches is over. The time for building is now.
Let us move from classrooms to clinics. From theory to treatment. From dependence to sovereignty.
I remain available to serve and to provide a detailed plan within 30 days. With love for our nation.
The author is Dr. Cheptinga K. Philip, the chief nephrologist and head of nephrology and transplantation at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH).
Views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not represent the editorial position of news9.africa.
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