The provision of quality and affordable healthcare to the people is one of the country’s key objectives in its quest to boost national development and prosperity.
This is why it is guaranteed by the Constitution and also features prominently in policy documents, including the Vision 2030 development blueprint. However, this remains in a pipedream even after devolving healthcare to the 47 counties.
To realise this healthy goal, there is a lot of work that needs to be done. Though it is a devolved function, healthcare remains one of the toughest challenges, as the counties have been found to lack the capacity to fully carry out this mandate.
A vehicle that was expected to drive this is the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) policy, which outlines the direction towards ensuring a significant improvement in the health status of all Kenyans.
Official government reports show very many households in the counties do not have medical insurance cover — both public and private.
Even the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) coverage is below 50 per cent for all the counties. In some of them, nine out of every 10 residents have or know about health insurance. This means that they wholly depend on the public healthcare system, which is totally wanting.
In each of the counties, less than eight per cent of the households have either the NHIF or any other health insurance, the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) 2022 report reveals.
Ironically, the counties where people have the poorest medical insurance coverage have allocated the least amounts to their health dockets for the 2023/24 financial year.
Counties must invest more to improve health care. Most of the public facilities mostly in rural areas lack qualified staff, medical facilities and essential drugs.
The least investment in healthcare means that fewer people are covered against illnesses. A healthy and productive population holds the key to greater economic progress and development.
