By Rashid Khalani
OPINION
Hundreds of thousands of Africans still travel abroad for medical treatment every year. Many do so not because expertise is lacking on the continent, but because of a deeply rooted perception that high-quality care is not available at home. This belief carries a heavy emotional and economic cost for families, for health systems, and for Africa’s long-term development.
According to a 2024 survey by Afrobarometer, about 70 per cent of Kenyan youth between the age of 18-35 are dissatisfied with primary healthcare services in the country. Public and private players across the continent therefore must do more to not only to provide quality care, but also to deliberately build trust in the African healthcare systems.
One effective way of building this trust is through independent, external accreditation of hospitals in the continent. Accreditation is more than a badge or certificate, it is a system-level promise to patients that the care they receive is benchmarked against the best in the world and that they do not have to travel thousands of miles to receive it.
Last month, Aga Khan University Hospital hospital received its fifth accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI), widely regarded as the gold standard in healthcare quality and patient safety. When the hospital first attained this milestone in 2013, becoming the first hospital in East Africa to be accredited, it was not because patients asked for it, regulators required it, or insurers demanded it but because it was the right thing to do for patients and for the health system we serve. But why do it?
Independent scrutiny over comfort
Choosing external accreditation is choosing accountability. It means opening every part of the hospital, its leadership, clinical quality, safety systems, infection control, training, and governance, to rigorous, independent evaluation. In the case of JCI, this means meeting 261 standards and nearly 1,200 measurable elements. It is a demanding, sometimes uncomfortable process that demands the willingness to confront gaps openly. It is also costly, time-consuming, and intensive.
Yet it is this rigour that gives accreditation its value, not only for Aga Khan University Hospital but for any hospital in Africa striving to strengthen the trust of its patients and communities.
Making trust tangible for patients
At its core, accreditation is about people. Every patient who walks through the doors of a hospital, places their hope in that institution during their most vulnerable moments. For them, accreditation means, care is consistent and evidence-based, safety is embedded into every clinical and operational process, medication and infection risks are tightly controlled and treatment decisions are reviewed and standardised.
It reassures families that quality is not dependent on individual effort alone, it is embedded in the hospital’s systems. By working with an external accrediting body, we invite independent scrutiny of how well we deliver on that promise.
Aligning teams around quality and safety
For staff, accreditation provides structure, clarity and shared purpose. It gives nurses, physicians, pharmacists, technologists, and support teams a shared framework for excellence. It strengthens teamwork because everyone understands their role in upholding safety and quality. It also validates their expertise by confirming that the care they deliver meets global standards. Most importantly, it creates a culture where improvement is a daily habit, not an occasional exercise.
Healthcare systems rely on trust, trust that resources are used responsibly, outcomes are measured, and patient safety is prioritised. External accreditation strengthens this trust by demonstrating robust systems, strong governance, reliable documentation and predictable standards of care. For governments and insurers, this offers confidence in referral pathways, clinical decision-making, and long-term investments in local healthcare.
The more African hospitals that pursue accreditation, JCI, College of American Pathologists, ISO, or others, the more patients will choose to stay within the continent for treatment. This is not about competition between hospitals; it is about raising the standard of care for all.
Africa has the expertise. What we must strengthen is the confidence in our systems and people. Accreditation is one way to demonstrate this, clearly and transparently. As a teaching hospital, accreditation is not only about delivering the best care to our patients, it is about shaping the future of healthcare in the continent. The doctors, nurses, and specialists we train are inducted into internationally benchmarked quality and safety standards. They carry these practices with them into the public and private hospitals where they eventually work, multiplying the impact far beyond our walls. The hope is that this accreditation journey inspires more hospitals across the continent to pursue similar pathways not because it is easy or required, but because it ultimately benefits the people we all serve.
When African hospitals commit to global standards, we collectively reshape the narrative of healthcare on the continent. We build trust, we retain talent and we reduce the need for costly medical travel abroad.
The writer, Rashid Khalani, a CEO, Aga Khan University Hospital.
