There is no substitute for the voice of the patient.

The Patients Association of Kenya is the organised link between patients and the people who shape Kenyan healthcare — hospitals, county and national government, insurers and global patient organisations.

Become a memberSee how we advocate

Founded 2015 by patients, for patients

Member of IAPO

Collaborating with the Ministry of Health, Kenya

What we do for patients

Every task we take on starts with a patient's concern, suggestion or solution — and ends with something measurable changing in the system.

Patient advocacy

We carry individual and collective patient concerns to the institutions that can act on them, and we follow up until there is an answer. Our advocacy is grounded in what patients actually report, not in assumptions about them.

Polls & research

We run patient opinion polls across Nairobi County and beyond with research partners, turning lived experience into evidence. That evidence is what makes a case for change credible with insurers, providers and policy makers.

Policy lobbying

We constantly lobby representatives on Health Bill amendments and contribute to healthcare policy on behalf of patients. Our goal is a devolved system that is accountable to the people it serves.

Rights education

We educate, train and create awareness of patients' rights under the Kenya Patients Charter, so that people know what they are entitled to and how to ask for it with confidence.

A member network

Membership gives patients a gateway to national healthcare, media and government — a way to shape positive debate that leads to real service adjustments. We are building toward 300,000 members.

Access to cover

Healthcare in Kenya is expensive. Our ongoing discussions with insurers aim at a joint venture that would provide affordable cover for all PAK members, alongside better access to quality care.

Community health outreach team meeting with residents in Kenya

Born in 2015, out of patients' own experience

In 2015 a group of associates who had themselves been patients reached a consensus: form an association that would work in tandem with national, county and non-governmental healthcare institutions to enhance the provision of health services in Kenya.

The Patients Association of Kenya was birthed to contribute to the improvement of quality healthcare provision — the kind that leads to real, effective change. We achieve our objectives by becoming the link between healthcare stakeholders and patients, pooling the expertise of skilled administration operatives and medical practitioners in our Board and Management.

We embrace collaboration with the Ministry of Health (Kenya) and with global partners, and we are a registered member of the International Association of Patients Organizations (IAPO). Our hope is that with this added associate opportunity, Kenya will continue to develop in offering premium healthcare.

  • IAPO
  • British Patients Association
  • Irish Patient Association
  • Canadian Patients Association
  • Australian Patients Association
  • Russian Patients Association
  • Patients Association of Scotland

Our vision and our mission

To empower patients' dignity and compassion by embracing genuine concerns, honesty, transparency and accountability in the provision of quality healthcare.

The vision

Our vision is founded on exploring the key issues facing patients, taking into account the current challenges within the Kenyan healthcare system. As a result of patients' feedback, we outline the key actions needed to improve patients' experience of care — and offer our support in doing so. Progressively, more and more patients will feel they have been treated professionally, with dignity, compassion and respect throughout their experience of care.

The mission

To influence collaborative, optimistic change in healthcare provision on behalf of patients. By listening to patients we are able to provide advocacy towards improving healthcare services with our partners, regularly working with all healthcare providers to improve services. This enables us to influence healthcare policy, act as agents for transformational change, collaborate with like-minded agencies, and offer members a gateway to national healthcare, media and government.

i

Promote better access to accurate and independent information for patients and the public.

ii

Promote equal access to better quality healthcare for patients in Kenya.

iii

Contribute to and participate in the right of patients to be involved in decisions about their healthcare.

iv

Educate, train and create awareness of patients' rights under the Kenya Patients Charter.

What members and partners say

Everyone has at one time been, or known, a patient. These are some of the voices that keep us working.

I joined PAK after a long stay in hospital where nobody explained what was happening to me. For the first time I felt that my experience counted for something — that it was being taken somewhere it could change things.

Grace Wanjiru Member, Nairobi County

The patient polls PAK runs give us something we rarely get: honest, structured feedback from the people we serve. It has directly informed how we handle communication at our facility.

Dr. Samuel Otieno Partner facility, Kisumu

As an insurer, working with an association that speaks for patients makes the conversation far more productive. PAK brings evidence to the table, not just sentiment.

Amina Hassan Health insurance partner

Join PAK, or partner with us

We seek your support in any way that would assist us to commence operational tasks and establish a value-added member network. Membership and stakeholder support is highly appreciated — everyone has at one time been, or known, a patient.

Visit usArgwins Kodhek Road, Nairobi, Kenya
Call us+254 0729 477 777
Email usinfo@patientsassociation.co.ke
Office hoursMonday to Friday, 10:30am – 3:00pm

Send us a message

Tell us your concern, your suggestion, or how you would like to partner with the association. We read every message.