AKU Surgery Programme receives ACGME-I accreditation, improving Kenya’s surgical training.
Graduates of AKU’s Class of 2025 celebrate at the Nairobi campus.
Nairobi, Kenya. April 2, 2026. – The Surgery Residency Programme at Aga Khan University (AKU) Medical College is the first in Kenya and the region to receive accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education International (ACGME-I). This achievement will improve the training and workforce of world-recognized surgeons in the country.
The internationally recognized accreditation requires structured supervision, detailed tracking of cases, patient safety systems, and regular independent reviews. These measures ensure that graduates are trained and evaluated against global standards aimed at improving surgical quality and care consistency.
Kenya faces a serious shortage of specialist surgeons, with only 581 licensed surgeons for a population of nearly 50 million, based on 2021 data from the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council. This means there is about one surgeon per 100,000 people, which is much lower than the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 20 specialist surgical providers per 100,000. The shortage is especially severe in rural areas, where many referral hospitals struggle to provide timely, safe surgical care.
“AKU remains committed to providing world-class medical education,” said Professor Lukoye Atwoli. “With this accreditation, all our Master of Medicine Residency programmes now meet ACGME-I standards, which reflect the quality of our faculty, staff, and students.”
Since its start, the programme has graduated 39 surgeons and currently trains 19 residents, with plans to increase enrollment in the coming years. Regional studies show that 85 to 93 percent of specialist surgical graduates remain in East and Central Africa, directly boosting local and regional healthcare capacity.
“This accreditation highlights our commitment to developing highly skilled, globally competitive surgeons who can meet the changing needs of our region,” said Dr Abdulkarim Abdallah.
Beyond Kenya, this milestone positions East Africa as a rising center for specialist medical training. By providing globally recognized surgical education locally, AKU is decreasing dependence on overseas certification while building lasting expertise in the region.
Expanding high-quality surgical training is viewed as a crucial step toward safer, more accessible surgical care for patients across East Africa, especially in emergency trauma, cancer treatment, and complicated maternal care.
