Healing Without Borders: How phototherapy reached Eldoret, Kenya
When Isabel first stepped into Dr. Wilson Liao’s UCSF clinic in San Francisco, her skin was red and intensely itchy from a severe skin condition. She had tried the standard treatments available to her back home in Kenya—mostly methotrexate, which is widely used but can come with notable side effects and limited success. Dr. Liao recommended something different: a combination therapy using coal tar and UVB light, a proven approach that has been used in the U.S. for decades with remarkable results.
And it worked. Within weeks, Isabel’s skin had cleared completely.
Isabel was deeply moved by her results. She thought of the challenges in Kenya, where treatment options are limited and advanced medications that need constant refrigeration during transport are often out of reach. This therapy felt different. It was effective, safe, and likely practical to offer in Kenya.
With her trademark optimism, can-do spirit, and the kind of conviction that draws people in, Isabel reached out to Dr. Liao and said, “I would love to bring this treatment to Kenya. Can you help me?”
A First Step: Phototherapy Reaches Eldoret
Isabel’s request resonated with Dr. Liao. He is widely respected as a leading researcher in psoriasis, known for his deep knowledge and scientific rigor. And at heart, he is inspired by ideas that hold the potential to change lives. He assembled his team at UCSF to help.
The first step was to get a phototherapy device to Kenya. That meant navigating the complex maze of international shipping regulations, U.S. export laws, and Kenyan import rules, ensuring compliance at every step. They rolled up their sleeves and tackled the challenges head-on.
A couple of years later, their persistence paid off. Dr. Liao, Isabel, and their teams succeeded in bringing the first phototherapy unit to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret. It was a major milestone. For the first time, patients in western Kenya could receive targeted light therapy without the high costs of medication or the need to travel abroad.
The first phototherapy unit in Kenya is installed at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret.
A Successful Combination Therapy Case Study
Phototherapy works well on its own, but its effects become even more potent when paired with a topical ointment called coal tar. So in the summer of 2024, Dr. Liao’s team launched what is believed to be the first use of this combination therapy in Kenya. The pioneering treatment was given to a 55-year-old woman who had journeyed over 350 kilometers seeking relief.
Within just three days, her condition began to turn around. By day ten, her skin had cleared. With just topical maintenance therapy at home, she remained in remission. The results were published as a case study, proof that this combination therapy could be adapted for resource-limited settings. It marked a historic moment for psoriasis care in the region.
55-year-old patient successfully treated with combination therapy in Kenya.
Building a More Sustainable Program
After the success of the initial case study, a new challenge became clear - how to scale the program to help more patients. Doing so required more than just the phototherapy machine: it meant securing a place for patients to stay during the week-long treatment, arranging transportation to the hospital’s phototherapy unit, securing a reliable, affordable coal tar supplier, training medical staff on best practices, and more. Dr. Liao and his team returned to the drawing board to design a program that could meet these needs.
Dr. Liao recognized that some of these sourcing and training challenges were similar to the ones his team at Solay Health had tackled while adapting the combination therapy for home use. He invited several of us to join him on his next trip to Kenya.
In May 2025, Dr. Liao, our phototherapy expert Sarah, our practice manager Shawn, along with UCSF medical students Georgia and Andrea, set out for Kenya. Isabel and her team warmly greeted us with big hugs when we landed at Eldoret.
Isabel and her team had done incredible work to set the groundwork for the program:
Partnered with Living Room International, a beautiful, healing-centered hospital in the Kenyan countryside. Surrounded by nature, it offers patients a peaceful place to stay during their week-long treatment.
Arranged the transportation to bus patients from the Living Room to MTRH for their phototherapy sessions.
Organized the first cohort of patients and medical staff prior to our visit.
Isabel (4th from right) and Dr. Liao (blue shirt) and their teams at the Living Room hospital.
Dr. Liao and the UCSF medical students led sessions with the teams at MTRH and Living Room, sharing an overview of combination therapy, case studies, and the latest research on how it can also benefit conditions like atopic dermatitis and vitiligo. Shawn shared his own healing story, showing how this therapy helped him find remission after years of moderate-to-severe psoriasis, and he helped secure a sustainable source of coal tar so the MTRH pharmacy could compound the ointment without relying on costly imports. Meanwhile, Sarah trained the phototherapy nurses at MTRH and worked side-by-side with the nurses at Living Room International, teaching them the best practices to apply the coal tar occlusion wraps.
The goal was bigger than teaching steps or protocols. It was about giving the team the confidence and knowledge to see the full potential of this therapy and to carry it forward for every patient who needs it.
The Mission
At Solay Health, our mission is to make safe, effective treatments accessible to everyone, whether at home in the U.S. or in communities halfway across the world. Seeing patients in Kenya receive combination therapy—treatment that we’ve seen change the lives of our own patients—brought that purpose to life in such a meaningful way.
We’re deeply grateful to our partners at UCSF, Living Room, and MTRH, and to the patients and clinicians whose courage and dedication are making this vision possible. And at the heart of it all is Isabel, whose simple question to Dr. Liao so many years ago set this entire journey in motion.