Kenya Calls for Revolutionary Overhaul of Healthcare with AI-Driven Nuclear Medicine

Nairobi, The Gulf Observer: The Kenyan government has issued a call for a sweeping transformation of the country’s healthcare systems, with a bold focus on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into nuclear medicine. Officials describe the initiative as a healthcare revolution, poised to redefine how diseases—especially cancer—are diagnosed, treated, and understood.

Speaking during the Molecular Frontiers Symposium in Nairobi, Prof Abdulrazak Shaukat, Principal Secretary in the newly established State Department of Science, Technology and Innovation under the Ministry of Education, emphasized that Kenya stands at the cusp of a medical renaissance fueled by advanced technologies.

“We stand at a time of a transformative era where the convergence of nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and AI is not merely shaping how we treat disease but defining how we understand life itself,” Prof Shaukat said in his keynote address.

The symposium, themed “Molecular Frontiers: The Convergence of Imaging, Therapy and AI,” convened top clinicians, researchers, and innovators to explore new frontiers in imaging, radiopharmaceuticals, and targeted therapies.

Prof Shaukat called for Kenya and the broader African continent to become active players in the global nuclear medicine ecosystem. Highlighting the possibilities of theranostics—a field that combines diagnostics and therapy—he painted a picture of a future where cancer cells can be targeted with near-perfect precision.

“Imagine a world where a simple scan can reveal disease in infancy, where therapy targets cancer cells with laser precision, sparing healthy tissues entirely. This is not science fiction. This is the promise of theranostics,” he noted.

He cited early clinical successes in institutions such as South Africa’s Steve Biko Academic Hospital, where the use of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) therapies in advanced prostate cancer has yielded promising results.

Kenya already possesses the foundation for this transition. Prof Shaukat pointed to existing nuclear infrastructure, including the availability of Lutetium-177 at Aga Khan University Hospital and local cyclotrons and reactors that can support expanded access to nuclear therapies.

Still, he cautioned that progress remains limited in the face of global inequity. “More than 4.7 billion people—about 60 per cent of the world’s population—lack access to essential nuclear medicine services,” he said, highlighting that low-resource regions average fewer than 0.01 nuclear medicine physicians per million people.

To bridge this gap, the PS advocated for stronger investments in local isotope production, the expansion of nuclear medicine training programs, and promotion of gender equity in scientific fields.

He also announced Kenya’s intent to deepen cooperation with global bodies such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which devotes a significant portion of its technical cooperation funds to building capacity in developing countries.

AI, according to Prof Shaukat, will be instrumental in enhancing precision and accessibility in nuclear medicine. “Each scan generates immense amounts of data. Artificial intelligence will help us integrate patient-specific variables—tumour volumes, organ functions, previous treatments—towards more precise, personalized care,” he stated.

He also urged a reversal of Africa’s “brain drain” in medical expertise, calling for systems that support the return of professionals to strengthen local healthcare.

“We must reverse the brain drain and create a system of brain circulation. Our experts must not just train abroad but return to build our health systems,” he stressed.

Supporting the remarks, Dr Kibet Shikuku, a human pathology specialist at The Nairobi West Hospital, affirmed the growing centrality of nuclear medicine in modern healthcare.

“Nuclear medicine and molecular imaging are no longer on the periphery of modern medicine. They are its core,” said Dr Shikuku.

Nairobi West Hospital is already piloting adaptive radiotherapy, a method that continuously adjusts treatment based on tumor response during therapy. Experts at the symposium agreed that the next frontier lies in the integration of AI with digital health platforms, enabling a truly personalized, responsive, and data-driven model of care.

The symposium marked a pivotal moment for Kenya as it aligns its health systems with global innovation trends, positioning itself as a leader in tech-enabled, precision healthcare across the continent.