NAIROBI, Kenya– More than 8,500 healthcare professionals, buyers and industry decision-makers attended the 10th edition of World Health Expo (WHX) in Nairobi, as East Africa’s healthcare sector focused on local manufacturing, smarter procurement and scalable digital health solutions.
The three-day exhibition, held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) from September 16 to 18, brought together more than 250 companies from 30 countries under the patronage of Kenya’s Ministry of Health and with support from the Kenya Healthcare Federation.
The event provided a platform for manufacturers, distributors, healthcare providers and policymakers to explore investment, procurement and cross-border partnerships across the region.
Opening the exhibition, Dr Joe Lenai, Director for Primary Healthcare, Preventive and Promotive Health at the Ministry of Health, challenged medical equipment suppliers to move beyond selling hardware and provide long-term maintenance and technical support.
“Africa must no longer be an equipment graveyard. For too long, expensive medical equipment has gone out of use due to unavailable spare parts, inadequate maintenance and insufficient technical skills,” Lenai said.
He called for comprehensive service-level agreements covering maintenance, spare parts and development of local technical capacity, arguing that such measures would strengthen the sustainability of healthcare investments in Africa.
Lenai also pointed to Kenya’s recent healthcare legislation, including the Primary Care Act, Social Health Insurance Act, Digital Health Act and Facility Improvement Financing Act, as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s healthcare ecosystem and create opportunities for investment, innovation and local manufacturing.
Digital health takes centre stage
Digital health emerged as one of the key areas of interest during the exhibition, with participants examining how technology can improve healthcare access, infrastructure and medicine supply, particularly in underserved areas.
Tom Coleman, Portfolio Director for Healthcare at inD, the organiser of WHX, said the event had attracted strong interest in digital health alongside medical devices, laboratory equipment, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.
“We also saw huge interest in digital health and how technology can strengthen healthcare infrastructure, improve access to medicines and support patients, not only in cities such as Nairobi, but also in rural and underserved areas,” Coleman said.
The exhibition featured medical equipment and devices, diagnostics and imaging, hospital consumables and IT, orthopaedics, telemedicine and disease surveillance technologies.
Dr Anne Musuva, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Healthcare Federation, said the event demonstrated the potential for the region to move beyond isolated digital health projects towards solutions that can operate at scale.
“WHX shows that East Africa’s healthcare sector is ready to move from fragmented pilots to investable, interoperable solutions that can operate securely at scale and benefit underserved populations,” Musuva said.
Regional partnerships
The exhibition also attracted official delegations from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and other East African markets, creating opportunities for cross-border procurement discussions and healthcare supply-chain partnerships.
Indonesia was among the countries represented at the event. Indonesian Ambassador to Kenya Witjaksono Adji said WHX provided an opportunity to deepen healthcare cooperation between the two countries.
“Events such as WHX provide an opportunity to strengthen partnerships, exchange expertise and explore possibilities for greater investment and cooperation between our two countries,” Adji said.
FedEx, the event’s Platinum Partner and Networking Lounge Partner, also facilitated interactions between exhibitors and buyers.
Leon Bruwer, Managing Director, Sales, Sub-Saharan Africa at FedEx, said efficient supply chains would be important to Kenya’s ambitions to expand local production of medicines and medical devices.
The WHX portfolio currently includes healthcare exhibitions in Nairobi, Lagos and Johannesburg, connecting international healthcare companies with distributors and buyers across African markets.
The next edition of WHX Nairobi is scheduled for September 15–17, 2027, at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.
