KENYA—The M-Pesa Foundation, the charitable arm of Kenya’s Safaricom mobile money platform, has launched a new healthcare drive that will benefit 60,000 people in medical camps across all 47 counties of Kenya.
The foundation has invested US$0.3 million to fund various healthcare initiatives, including health information provision, the provision of medical equipment and drugs in healthcare facilities, screening for selected non-communicable diseases, dental care, and eye care.
The medical camps kicked off in Lamu, a county located on the Indian Ocean coast. The foundation has already invested US$12,000 in Lamu to purchase drugs and surgical equipment to support healthcare provision.
On the launch day of the medical camps, over 1,000 residents of Lamu received treatment for various ailments at King Fahd County Referral Hospital. The medical camp will then move to the Mpeketoni and Faza sub-county hospitals in Lamu.
Nicholas Nganga, Chairman of the M-Pesa Foundation, stated, “The program we are launching today complements other landmark initiatives that we have rolled out in collaboration with various counties in a bid to address healthcare challenges.”
Lamu Governor Issa Timamy described the initiative as timely and noted that it would boost healthcare services.
The county is committed to improving access to healthcare and the utilization of health services as part of its health agenda.
Among the M-Pesa Foundation’s other health projects and initiatives is Daktari Smart, a telemedicine project in collaboration with Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation that provides specialist care to underserved areas in Lamu, Homa Bay, Baringo, and Samburu counties.
The program, with a budget of US$1.2 million, aims to provide specialist health services to more than 32,000 children.
Additionally, the foundation, in partnership with Flying Doctors, operates a fistula program that has provided surgery and treatment to over 400 women since 2021.
Another initiative called Uzazi Salama is a partnership with AMREF Health Africa, the PharmAccess group, and the Samburu County government.
It focuses on improving infrastructure, capacity building of health workers, community-based information and education, and healthcare financing.
Through this partnership, over 50 health facilities in Samburu have been renovated, benefiting more than 250,000 people in the county.
The foundation’s LEAP (formerly known as the Health Enablement and Learning Platform) is an education kit that aims to train, up-skill, and develop the capacity of Community Health Volunteers.
LEAP plays a critical role in delivering community health services across Kenya, with over 3,000 registered community health workers reaching over 360,000 people annually. This initiative is a first of its kind in the country.
Public-Private Partnership Model in improving healthcare in Kenya
In 2020, the Ministry of Health released the Kenya Health Public Private Collaboration strategy to promote ethical engagement and collaboration in the Kenyan healthcare sector.
The strategy highlights that the private sector in Kenya accounts for approximately 45% of the healthcare market, although this proportion varies from county to county.
There is now a renewed focus on health and a shift in the government’s role from being a care provider to a financier, allowing the private sector to supplement the services that the public sector cannot offer.
The prospects for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are favorable in various areas such as equipment supply, e-health, training and education, health insurance, and the establishment of new private hospitals.
One notable example is the seven-year Managed Equipment Services Partnership (MES), which aims to provide Kenya’s population of 53.01 million with access to teleradiology services across 98 Ministry of Health hospitals in all 47 counties.
According to the Institute of Economic Affairs, the MES project involves an agreement between the national government and county governments, with six global medical firms contracted to supply, install, train users, and provide maintenance and repairs for diagnostic medical equipment.
At the county level, Kisumu County has partnered with Oasis Doctors Plaza, a private entity, in a renewable five-year contract to manage Victoria Sub-County Hospital, a peri-urban health facility.
This collaboration demonstrates the potential of public-private partnerships in improving healthcare services and expanding access to quality care.
The implementation of the Public-Private Collaboration strategy and the establishment of such partnerships reflect a proactive approach by the Kenyan government to leverage the strengths of the private sector in addressing healthcare challenges.
By working together, the public and private sectors can enhance the healthcare system, improve service delivery, and ultimately benefit the people of Kenya.
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