Nairobi: Within months of Metropolis Health of Mumbai setting up shop in Kenya's capital, another Indian medicare provider is set to enter the East African market. India's Global Hospitals is partnering with Kenya's upmarket Karen hospital in Nairobi to offer specialised urological and kidney care to the region's patients. The Indian doctors, who have pitched tent at the Kenyan hospital since some weeks, are offering consultations on subsidised rates. They are working closely with Kenyan doctors, giving advice and conducting tests on patients, many of whom cannot afford the high fees usually charged by Kenyan experts.

With a reputation for advanced knowledge and wide experience in treating complicated "lifestyle" diseases such as those afflicting kidneys and the heart, the Indian doctors offer a rare opportunity for affordable quality treatment -- and patients are flocking the hospital in their hundreds to take advantage. Global Hospitals, which has been treating East Africans seeking relatively affordable healthcare in its facilities in Chennai and Mumbai, is taking advantage of the partnership to publicise its services in the whole region through advertisements in newspapers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. These countries have a combined population of close to 150 million people. "This is a good thing for us as it affords patients to be attended by some of the best experts in the world, while at the same time exposing our doctors to world class experience by working hand-in-hand with the Indian specialists," Betty Gikonyo, chief executive Karen hospital said.