How the Rise of Kenya’s global workforce is reshaping employee healthcare: There was a time when employee medical cover was a fairly straightforward proposition. An employee worked in Kenya, and the family lived in Kenya. When medical care was needed, the expectation was that it would be provided here. That is no longer the reality for a growing number of professionals.

Kenyan companies have expanded into other African markets. Multinationals have made Nairobi a regional hub. Technology has made it possible for someone sitting in Nairobi to work for a company headquartered in London, Dubai or New York. Senior executives now routinely travel between countries as part of their jobs. Families are also increasingly spread across borders.

I see this change in my work every day. The question employers are asking about healthcare is slowly moving beyond, “What does the medical scheme cover in Kenya?” They are beginning to ask, “What happens when my employee or their family is outside Kenya?” That is an important shift.

Kenya’s Economy Is Becoming Increasingly Connected

Kenya’s economy itself reflects this growing international connection. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the economy grew by 4.6 per cent in 2025. Financial and insurance activities, information and communication, construction, and accommodation and food services were among the sectors that recorded growth. Employment also continued to expand, with 822,100 jobs created during the year.

There is another figure that says something about how connected Kenyan households have become to the rest of the world. Remittances reached KSh931.8 billion in the 12 months to May 2025. That is not simply a financial statistic. Behind it are Kenyan professionals working abroad, families with members in different countries and an economy that is increasingly connected to international labour markets.

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Healthcare Must Respond to a More Mobile Workforce

Healthcare needs to recognise this reality. Kenya has made considerable progress in developing its health workforce. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that the country now has close to 190,000 active health workers across 13 major health occupations, almost twice the number recorded a decade ago.

But demand continues to outpace supply. WHO estimates a 46 per cent shortage of nurses and a 92 per cent shortage of doctors against the country’s estimated requirements. Overall, the existing workforce meets about 76.4 per cent of the estimated need.

These are national figures, but they have an obvious implication for employers. Access to the right care, at the right time and in the right place, cannot always be assumed.

Where International Private Medical Insurance Fits In

For someone whose life and work are confined to one country, a domestic medical plan may be entirely appropriate. For someone who spends considerable time outside Kenya, the situation is different.

This is where international private medical insurance (IPMI) comes into the conversation. IPMI is often misunderstood as simply “medical insurance that works abroad”. It is more than that. Depending on the plan, it can provide access to international networks of hospitals and specialists, emergency assistance, evacuation and repatriation, and support in navigating healthcare systems in different countries.

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Growing Demand for Executive Healthcare Protection

Executive Healthcare Solutions (EHS) has seen the need for this kind of protection become much more pronounced among executives and internationally mobile professionals.

In 2025, EHS entered into an exclusive distribution arrangement with AXA Global Healthcare for its Global Executive Health Plan. The international network associated with the offering covers more than two million healthcare providers across 195 countries.

The Value of Support When Medical Emergencies Cross Borders

But numbers alone do not explain why this matters. Consider an executive who has a serious medical problem while travelling. The immediate concern is not the size of the provider network.

It is finding appropriate care quickly, knowing whether the hospital can be accessed under the policy, arranging specialist treatment if required and, in a serious case, deciding whether the patient should be treated locally or moved elsewhere. For the employee and their family, that support can be extremely important.

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Healthcare as Part of the Employee Value Proposition

For employers, there is a second consideration. Healthcare is part of the employee value proposition. As Kenyan businesses become more regional and international, the benefits offered to senior employees and internationally mobile staff have to reflect that reality.

This does not mean every employee needs global medical insurance. It means employers need to look carefully at how their people actually live and work before deciding what kind of cover makes sense.

Keeping Healthcare Protection in Step With Global Mobility

Kenya’s workforce is becoming more international. Our businesses are becoming more international. Our healthcare conversations should reflect that change.

The question is no longer whether healthcare can cross borders. It is whether the healthcare protection we provide our people is keeping pace with the way they already live and work.