Why Choose Us?
We are the First in many Clinical Areas.
Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUHN) offers healthcare services that are relevant to the communities that we serve and beyond regardless of gender, faith or ethnic origin. Our dedicated staff, advanced facilities and state-of-the-art technologies have earned the hospital great reputation as a leading medical institution and teaching hospital in the region.
In June 2024, 10 of our outreach medical centres received SafeCare certification, in recognition of adherence to the highest standards of care. SafeCare standards are divided into 13 different categories with over 650 standards, covering the full range of medical to non-medical aspects of care, Accredited by the International Society for Quality in Health Care External Evaluation Association (ISQuaEEA). Read more
In 2024 the hospital was for the second time been certified as a centre of excellence for the management of acute primary stroke by the Joint Commission International (JCI), the recognized global leader in healthcare quality standards. The recognition followed a rigorous audit that evaluated the quality of care and patient safety protocols. AKUH,N was first certified as a centre of excellence for stroke in 2021, becoming the first hospital in Africa to achieve this certification. To date, it remains the only JCI certified Acute Primary Stroke Care centre on the continent. The certification is reviewed every 3 years. Read more
In 2023, AKUH,N was re-certified as a Centre of Excellence for the management of heart attacks by the Joint Commission International (JCI), the recognized global leader in health quality standards. AKUH,N was the first hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa, to achieve this certification when it was first certified in 2020 and remains the only Centre of Excellence in East Africa recognized as such. Read more
In February 2023, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi launched a first-in-Africa cancer drug clinical trial to investigate the effectiveness of a new treatment that blocks the activity of a gene mutation responsible for the cause of cancer in affected patients. AKUH,N is the only site selected in Africa for the testing of this new treatment. Read more
In February 2022, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi performed the first penile implant procedure to treat erectile dysfunction in East and Central Africa. This was the first time for this procedure to be conducted in the region because it requires rare specialized expertise, a sub-specialty in urology. Read more
In June 2021 the hospital was accredited as a Centre of Excellence for the management of Acute Primary Stroke, becoming the first hospital in Africa to achieve this certification. Read more
In 2020, AKUH,N was also accredited as a Centre of Excellence for the management of Heart Attacks becoming the second hospital in Africa to attain this certification.
Again in November 2020, AKUH,N launched a dedicated Clinical Research Unit (CRU) to spearhead cancer clinical trials and form the cornerstone of cancer research for East Africa.
The CRU, the first of its kind in the region, aims to attract cancer clinical trials to Kenya, something that has been lacking in the past since most clinical trials are conducted in South Africa and hardly any in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more
Aga Khan University Hospital acquired the regions first Spect CT technology in December 2020 that gives precision and accuracy in imaging diagnostics as well as a digital mammography machine for conducting breast imaging. We are relentless in creating a healthcare environment that ensures quality, impact, relevance and increases access to care for all irrespective of gender, faith and ethnic origin.
In October 2018, AKUHN launched the first Positron Emission Tomography (PET-CT) machine in sub-Saharan Africa in November 2018, reaffirming its premier status as the leading provider of quality clinical care, teaching and research in the region and beyond. Read more
In 2013, we were granted the Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation, which is the highest international hospital accreditation. AKUH was the first hospital in East Africa and one of six other hospitals in Africa to receive this coveted accreditation which we have been recertified thrice in 2016, 2019 and 2022. The JCI accreditation, administered out of Chicago, USA, is an external validation that AKUH is providing the highest quality of patient care and safety in line with international peer hospitals. Our patients from across Africa have the confidence that they can get world-class care similar to what is offered in leading hospitals globally, right here in Africa and no longer have to travel abroad. Read
more
Aga Khan University Hospital
Nairobi, (AKUH) became the first in sub-Saharan Africa, to introduce
a new advanced brain, head, neck and spine surgery technology in August 2017. The
highly specialised Stealth S7 neuronavigation system helps in planning a
surgical approach to the targeted lesion with precision, confidence and
safety, avoiding areas of the brain that directly control function
during tumor surgery and in accurately operating on the spine during
spinal fusion surgery. Read more
In Februaty 2015, Heart specialists at Aga Khan University Hospital performed the first heart valve replacement in the region using a novel technique that involves accessing the damaged area through only two punctures in the groin. This new technique of trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (known as TAVI) is only available in a few specialist centres around the world and requires a comprehensive team with experts who have internationally recognised experience in both open surgical and minimally invasive interventional techniques. Read more
Neurointerventional surgery, a less invasive procedure that offers alternative to craniotomy which involves opening the skull has been introduced in the country at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. The hospital becomes the first in the region to offer the procedure which is only available in Egypt and South Africa. The procedure has so far been done successfully on two patients. Read more
Chronic pain that is undiagnosed or untreated may lead to disability and loss of proper functioning. This has a negative impact on a patient’s quality of life resulting in other illnesses such as depression, severe anxiety and consequently disability and loss of productivity. In April 2015, the Pain Management Unit at the hospital introduced
Neuromodulation procedure for treating patients suffering from chronic pain and disability. The procedure was performed for the first time in the region on 43 patients by a multidisciplinary team of specialists including pain medicine specialists, neurosurgeons, pain management therapists and psychologists from the hospital. Read more
In July 2015, the hospital introduced a rare procedure of extracting platelets from the blood of donors using a Trima Accel machine, making Aga Khan University Hospital the only hospital in East and Central Africa to offer the service. One-of-its-kind, the procedure known as platelet apheresis involves a process of separating blood into its various components that include; platelets, Red Blood Cells (RBCs) and plasma with some components being retained (platelets) while the rest are transfused back to the donor. Read more
AKUH
Urodynamics Unit introduced at Aga Khan University Hospital in August 2013 provides evidence based investigations and care for women and men with bladder problems. The Unit is equipped with a new urodynamics machine which studies the functions of the bladder and bladder neck in males and females. The tests carried out include uroflow, voiding/ filling phase assessment and bladder neck pressures. Read more
