The “brain drain” of medical professionals from developing to developed countries hampers the delivery of quality health programmes in many developing countries, but its cause is not simply the attraction of better paying jobs abroad. The quality of the equipment and the facilities, the availability of advanced training, and opportunities for research and career advancement also play a role in retention.

Building on over 50 years of healthcare delivery in East Africa, AKDN has committed US$ 250 million for the creation of a new Faculty of Health Sciences in Nairobi that will grow to include a Medical College, a School of Nursing and a School of Allied Health Sciences. With the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi at its centre, the Faculty’s purpose is to retain and expand the number of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals for the East Africa region.

The Faculty will be part of a regional network that builds on AKDN resources, including major hospitals in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as health centres and clinics and community health programmes. In total, AKDN plans to invest US$ 700 million in the health sciences in East Africa over the next 15 years.

"The central challenge of this new faculty will be to address the crucial healthcare priorities of the East African population - and indeed all of sub-Saharan Africa - from Sudan to Mozambique, from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic." His Highness the Aga Khan at the inauguration of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya - 13 August 2007