The Kenya Society for Sports Medicine (KSSM) has appointed Dr. Peter Bukhala of MMUST as Vice Chairman. Dr. Bukhala of the Department of Health Promotion and Sports Science has been instrumental in the formation of KSSM. This society includes a wide range of professionals such as medical doctors, physiotherapists, sports scientists, athletic trainers and coaches. 

The formation of KSSM was triggered upon realisation that many of the sports injury management programmes are not well coordinated and sometimes not based on current best practices. KSSM aims at coordinating the programmes and trainings to ensure appropriate practices are entrenched. Ultimately, KSSM will bring together all practitioners from the East African region under one umbrella. Upon acceptance of his appointment, Dr. Bukhala said “This is a challenge and as a leader of KSSM I will ensure that our current linkages will enable us strengthen Sports Medicine across the region”.

Already, trainings have been conducted in a collaborative workshop with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) at MMUST in October 2017. KSSM also recently organized the 1st International Sports Medicine Conference, March 2018 in Nairobi. In addition, plans are underway for establishment of the Sports Medicine Centre at MMUST to coordinate research and training. 

MMUST runs academic programmes in Sports Science, Health Promotion and Physical Education, spanning from certificate, diploma, bachelors, masters to doctorate levels. The university also provides short courses in the related fields. Recently, a gym facility worth KES 30 million was launched to support Sports Medicine programs in MMUST (Photo: Dr. Peter Bukhala with ACSM President Prof. Walt Thompson of USA).