The Aga Khan University Hospital Achieves Fifth Successive International Quality Accreditation

The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi (AKUH,N) has been accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), marking its fifth successive accreditation and reaffirming its position as a regional leader in quality and patient safety.

AKUH,N was the first hospital in East Africa to achieve the prestigious JCI quality standard in 2013 and has been successfully reaccredited every three years since then, underscoring its unwavering commitment to safe, reliable, and patient-centered care.

“By opening ourselves to an external, internationally recognized audit process—and consistently passing it—we are showing our commitment to benchmarking our care with the best hospitals globally," said Rashid Khalani, Chief Executive Officer, AKUH,N.

JCI accreditation is the gold standard for health care providers, signifying that a hospital has been independently evaluated and confirmed to meet rigorous global standards for quality and patient safety. Hospitals undergo a comprehensive audit every three years before they can be re-accredited.

This year's accreditation is especially significant, as the hospital was surveyed under the latest 8th edition JCI Academic Medical Centre standards, which came into effect in January 2025—making AKUH,N the first JCI-accredited Academic Medical Centre in sub-Saharan Africa. The Academic Medical Centre survey has an expanded scope that evaluates additional compliance with the Medical Professional Education and the Human Subject Research Program (HRP) standards.

In addition, the hospital was surveyed against the new Global Health Impact (GHI) standards, which rigorously evaluate the extent to which the hospital advances decarbonization and mitigates or reduces greenhouse gas emissions through environmentally friendly initiatives and operations. Accreditation as an organization whose operations are compliant with the pursuit of net-zero emissions and mitigation against climate change makes AKUH,N a continental leader in this area.

This latest achievement follows an intensive on-site survey conducted in November 2025, during which AKUH,N achieved an outstanding score of 98.4%. The hospital was assessed against 268 standards and nearly 1,200 measurable elements, ranging from patient safety, clinical standards, infection control, medication management, and facility safety to patient experience, documentation, emergency preparedness, leadership, staff training, and staff competencies.

A score of 98.4% places AKUH,N among a select group of hospitals globally recognized for outstanding reliability, safety, and clinical performance.

“This accreditation is not simply a certificate on the wall. It defines our way of life and guides the way we provide care, review patient outcomes, update our processes, and implement continuous improvement plans," Mr Khalani added.

This JCI accreditation adds to the hospital's growing list of quality milestones. In 2020, AKUH,N became the first hospital in sub-Saharan Africa—and only the second in Africa—to earn JCI's Centre of Excellence certification for the management of heart attacks, and was successfully reaccredited in 2023. AKUH,N was also the first hospital in Africa to be accredited as a JCI Centre of Excellence in the management of Acute Primary Stroke in 2021 and was successfully reaccredited in July 2024.

Furthermore, the hospital's laboratory holds dual accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the South African National Accreditation System (SANAS).

“These accreditations require significant investment in people, facilities, and technology," said Mr Khalani. “And although regulators do not require them, we continue to pursue these standards because it is the right thing to do for our patients."