MOH Kenya holds high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage investment

KENYA— The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Nakhumicha S. Wafula has held discussions with various partners, and donors concerning the government’s strategic plans for the implementation of Universal health coverage (UHC) in Kenya.

A meeting was held with stakeholders from different organizations to emphasize the importance of working together to achieve comprehensive healthcare for all Kenyans.

Partners present at the meeting included the World Health Organization, the Children Investment Fund Foundation, Mastercard Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development, and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

The meeting served as a platform to discuss different strategies to achieve UHC implementation.

The Cabinet secretary presented the new Kenyan government’s vision and plans to use private-public partnerships to fulfill UHC in their current term.

Although progress has been made, there is a need to make quality healthcare accessible to all Kenyans.

The government is committed to ensuring that every citizen has access to affordable and high-quality healthcare.

The meeting discussed key areas of focus, including strengthening healthcare infrastructure, expanding access to essential health services, and addressing health inequalities.

Universal Health Coverage was declared a national priority in Kenya by President Uhuru Kenyatta on December 12, 2018.

The Ministry of Health established a department to oversee and monitor UHC. Kenya has made progress towards UHC with various policy initiatives and reforms implemented in the country.

However, research conducted by the Centre for Global Studies on UHC implementation in Kenya found that only 15.8% of people had NHIF Supa cover as of 2018, while 80% had other forms of health insurance.

One of the biggest impediments to UHC implementation was the overreliance on external funding.

The financing of main programs such as routine immunization, family planning, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and nutrition, and domestic funds only make up about 7-23% of the total program financing.

The research also found that a national average of 28% of households did not seek healthcare, with most people either self-medicating or not seeking care due to high costs.

Interestingly, when user fees were reduced to affordable levels in rural health facilities and slums, utilization of health services increased by 50%.

To improve the implementation of UHC in Kenya, the government needs to prioritize health when allocating its budgets.

The Abuja Declaration calls for governments to spend 15% of their budget on health, but few African countries reach this target.

Innovative financing of the UHC program, such as taxing air tickets, foreign exchange transactions, and luxury goods, could also be key to unlocking additional funds.

The use of diaspora bonds and solidarity levies on various products and services, as well as development assistance for health initiatives, could also help.

According to data from WHO, only eight of the 49 low-income countries had a chance of generating the funds required to achieve any of the Millenium development goals, including UHC, from domestic sources alone.

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