A community health program backed by Boehringer Ingelheim has enrolled more than 10,000 patients in long-term treatment for hypertension and Type 2 diabetes in Kenya, marking a milestone in efforts to curb the country’s growing burden of non-communicable diseases.
The initiative, launched in 2022 in partnership with mPharma, reached more than 150,000 people nationwide last year through screening, treatment referrals and follow-up care, according to a statement released in Nairobi on Monday.
The progress comes as Kenya faces rising rates of chronic illness. Non-communicable diseases account for about 27% of deaths in the country, according to research published in BMC Health Services Research. Globally, about 82% of premature deaths linked to such conditions occur in low- and middle-income countries, data from the World Health Organization show.
Health officials say the challenge isn’t only diagnosis but keeping patients in care. Many people drop out of treatment because of travel costs, distance from clinics and limited follow-up support, increasing the risk of complications and hospitalizations.
The Access to Healthcare program aims to close that gap by combining community screening with clinic-based treatment and structured follow-up by nurses for at least a year. The model focuses on ensuring patients stay on treatment rather than simply identifying new cases.
Evidence from the program suggests the approach may improve long-term management. In a 2025 follow-up assessment of patients who had spent more than a year in the program, 81% demonstrated strong understanding of symptoms, treatment adherence and how to respond to complications.
“Kenya represents both an urgent need and a powerful opportunity to rethink how healthcare systems respond to chronic disease,” said Hale Asikoglu, head of Sustainable Development for Generations in the IMETA region at Boehringer Ingelheim. The initiative is part of the company’s plan to expand healthcare access to 50 million people globally by 2030, he said.
Digital health provider Zuri Health supports the program’s outreach efforts through mobile and pop-up clinics that bring screening services closer to communities.
“What we see in many communities is that people may get diagnosed, but they fall out of care very quickly,” said Anthony Nduati, product manager for chronic disease management at Zuri Health. “By linking screening, referral and follow-up into one pathway, more patients remain in care and learn how to manage their condition.”
The program also works with healthcare facilities to strengthen referral networks. More than 50 clinics have partnered with the initiative and over 345 physicians now refer patients into the system.
Its next phase will focus less on geographic expansion and more on improving patient retention and integrating the model with Kenya’s broader health system, the partners said. As chronic diseases increasingly strain public health systems across Africa, programs that emphasize continuous care rather than one-time interventions are gaining attention from governments and private sector health providers alike.
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