Nairobi, 3rd June 2025: The 2025 Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) Health System Quality Symposium, held from May 26 to 28 in Nairobi, marked a key milestone in strengthening clinical governance, enhancing patient safety, and elevating quality performance across the AKDN Health System.
Guided by the theme “Standardising Quality of Care and Patient Safety Across Borders: A Collaborative Approach,” the event brought together Chief Medical and Nursing Officers, Quality Leads, and senior leaders from Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) and Aga Khan University Hospitals (AKUH). It reflected the health system’s shared commitment to delivering safe, equitable, and high-quality care, no matter where services are accessed.
The symposium drew 45 in-person delegates and over 150 virtual participants from AKDN Health System institutions across Pakistan, Tajikistan, Syria, Afghanistan, Kenya, and Tanzania—a clear demonstration of the network’s collective investment in quality improvement and patient safety.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Sulaiman Shahabuddin, President of Aga Khan University, set the tone for the symposium with a powerful reminder: “Quality and Patient Safety are not optional; they are promises we make to every patient who walks through our doors.” His words reinforced the central message of the gathering—that quality and patient safety must be at the heart of care system-wide.
Throughout the sessions, this message was echoed and elaborated upon. Dr. Gijs Walraven, Director of Health at AKDN, emphasized the opportunity and responsibility that comes with operating as an integrated system: “As one system, we are better positioned to reduce inequities, drive improvement, and ensure that every patient benefits from the same high standards of care.”
The symposium also officially launched the AKDN-Health System Global Quality Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Framework—a unified set of indicators that will support consistent quality measurement, benchmarking, and improvement across the entire health system.
Dr. Zeenat Sulaiman, Global Head of Quality for the AKDN Health System and Regional CEO of AKHS, East Africa, described this moment as “a pivotal step toward transforming our fragmented efforts into a unified quality system.” She noted, “By aligning across the AKDN Health System, we reduce variation, strengthen accountability, and move together toward excellence.” Her reflections underscored a core theme of the symposium: that meaningful quality improvement goes beyond data collection or ticking boxes—it requires a shift in how care is delivered, led, and experienced.
Over the course of three days, participants engaged in a wide range of sessions exploring patient safety event reporting, risk management, infection control, medication safety, and person-centred care. Renowned external speakers Dr. Paul Barach and Chris Malone, brought rich global insights into leadership, culture change, and the importance of human connection in modern healthcare.
The final day of the symposium focused on action. Through three parallel technical workshops—on Clinical Governance, Joint Commission International (JCI) Internal Surveyor Training, and SafeCare Certification—teams developed practical roadmaps tailored to their facility’s needs and accreditation goals.
As the event closed, the message was clear: the AKDN Health System is united around a shared vision. With collaboration, consistency, and measurable standards, it is building a stronger, more accountable, and more compassionate health system—together.
About the AKDN Health System:
The AKDN Health System includes a globally integrated network of hospitals, medical centres, and outreach health services operated by Aga Khan Health Services and Aga Khan University Hospitals. With operations in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, the system has served over 13 million people across 13 hospitals, 157 medical centres, and 783 primary health facilities (as of 2024). It is committed to delivering person-centred, evidence-based, and quality-assured care in some of the world’s most underserved regions.