JCI Surveyor Mr. Muhammad Akbar Khan (left), hands over the JCI Triennial Survey Exit Report to Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi CEO Rashid Khalani. Photo by Tim-Sky media
Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, has for the fifth consecutive time reaffirmed its leading position in the region in terms of healthcare quality following its accreditation by Joint Commission International, which is recognized as the leading healthcare standards recognizer globally.
This latest accreditation came after a rigorous on-site visit carried out in November 2025, where the hospital acquired a remarkable score of 98.4 percent, making it part of the select few globally distinguished for its excellence in patient safety and quality delivery.
AKUH, N made history in the year 2013 by becoming the very first hospital in the Republic of East Africa to be accredited by the Joint Commission International and has since then been successfully re-accredited every three years.
“This is a testimony to the commitment of AKUH, N, towards world-class benchmarking and improvement efforts,” AKUH, N Chief Executive Officer, Rashid Khalani, said after the announcement.
‘“We are opening ourselves up to an audit process which recognizes international standards, and by passing it each time, we are proving our commitment to being able to benchmark our care standards to the world’s best hospitals,”’ said Mr. Khalani.
JCI accreditation is the most prestigious recognition for healthcare organizations around the world. JCI’s three-year cycle of assessments for accredited hospitals includes stringent international standards in the following categories: Patient Safety, Inpatient and Outpatient Care, Infection Prevention and Control, Medication Management, Facility Safety, Emergency Preparedness, Leadership, Training of Health Care Providers, Documentation, and Patient and Family Satisfaction.
This time around, for its latest assessment, AKUH, N has been measured against 268 standards and close to 1,200 key points, which affirms just how extensive the exercise is.
“Accreditation is not something that is just a piece of paper that is on a wall,” Mr. Khalani explained, noting that it is what defines their way of life that dictates their patient care, analytic reviews, process updates, and plans to make improvements.
The latest recognition by JCI is an addition to AKUH, N’s list of accomplishments in health quality. In 2020, the institution became the first in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa and only the second on the African continent to receive certification as a JCI Centre of Excellence in managing cases related to heart attacks, in which it successfully retained in 2023.
It was the first to get certification as a JCI Centre of Excellence in managing Acute Primary Stroke Care in Africa in 2021, and in July 2024, it has successfully reattained this certification.
Furthermore, the hospital’s lab services also have double accreditation by the College of American Pathologists, commonly abbreviated as CAP, in conjunction with South African National Accreditation System, which is SANAS.
“These accredits come with a heavy cost in terms of human capital, infrastructural, and technology investment,” Mr. Khalani said. “Although these accredits are not mandatory by the regulation bodies, we still work toward attaining them because it is the right thing to do.”
This accomplishment also reinforces the position of AKUH, N as the hallmark institution for quality health care within Kenya and the entire region.