Kenya’s MoH rolls out health facility census to address issues of inequity and service delivery

KENYA – The Ministry of Health (MoH) Kenya, has launched the country’s first ever nationwide health facility census to help pin down gaps in the healthcare sector to enhance service delivery.

The census is a  two-week initiative that will target 15,000 facilities both public, private, and faith-based organizations supported by luminaries of the healthcare sector. 

The assessment will give a clear roadmap on gaps that need to be filled to ensure that the country’s health framework is well-equipped to deliver Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC). 

At the launch of the census, Health Cabinet Secretary Nakhumicha. S. Wafula noted that the data compiled from the facility assessment exercise would provide evidence for policy formulation, planning, and programming within the health sector toward the realization of Universal health coverage.

“The health facility census will act as a step forward in the government mission to ensure quality healthcare access for all Kenyans is met under UHC,” Nakhumicha said.

The Health CS stated that the health facility census will greatly inform the country’s investments in health with a focus on health personnel, health infrastructure, health products, and technologies.

CS Wafula also mentioned that all primary health centers will be equipped with modern information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and connected to the Internet to enhance seamless referral systems.

“This will help in the referral system as the country focuses on preventive and promotive health with Community Health Promoters being at the center of service provision,” the C.S. stated. 

She added that the exercise will also play a critical role in the realization and provision of quality health services to the citizens as envisioned in the Kenyan constitution.

The assessment exercise will be conducted by officers from the Ministry, health professional regulatory agencies, and County Governments.

On the other hand, the Council of Governors (CoG) Health Committee chair Muthomi Njuki said that the governors across the 47 counties remain committed to ensuring the success of the UHC in the country.

Njuki praised the Health Ministry’s decision to decentralize a portion of healthcare professionals to the counties, noting that the move would alleviate the challenges faced by counties grappling with shortages of health personnel.

Kenya’s government commitment to fulfilling Universal Healthcare Coverage

The Kenyan government through this census underpins it is a commitment to the implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as espoused in the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

Additionally, in an effort to accelerate the attainment of UHC, the government has prioritized Primary Health Care including a focus on Community Health Promoters at the community level.

Moreover, this endeavor will shift the focus of health sector investment to preventive and promotive health care. 

The government in collaboration with county governments and other key stakeholders will work towards strengthening the primary health care system including its governance with the establishment of Primary Care Networks (PCNs).

PCNs shall be organized in a hub and spoke model and will be linked with the higher levels of the health system for a seamless continuum of care.

Impetus needed to get countries like Kenya to achieve UHC by 2030

The World Health Organisation (WHO) notes that despite the global momentum on UHC, half the world’s population still lacks access to essential health services. 

Moreover, close to 12% (800 million people) of the world’s population spend more than 10 percent of their household budget on health care leading to almost 100 million people being pushed into extreme poverty each year because of out-of-pocket health expenses. 

Achieving UHC has been at the center of various countries’ national plans for a number of years now.

From discussions surrounding the Millennium Development Goals to resolutions adopted in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, Universal Health Care has been critical to this envisioned achieving sustainable development.

The World Bank notes that over the past years, Kenya has accelerated progress toward Universal Health Coverage, both in terms of expanding coverage of quality health services and reducing financial hardships.

For example, Kenya’s life expectancy increased from about 51 years in 2000 to about 66 years in 2018 while the incidence of catastrophic health spending decreased from almost 13% in 2013 to 8% in 2018.

However, the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and other health crises have negatively impacted progress toward UHC. 

Moreover, the expected limited fiscal space means that the increase in resources to finance the expansion of UHC in the coming years might also be limited.

Critically, the Kenyan government needs to preserve spending on health, and as the economy and available resources grow, the country may return to increasing spending on health. 

In the meanwhile, Kenya ought to focus on maximizing the impacts of current public spending – improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and equity of its public investments

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