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3. Kenya Kwanza’s 14 Commitments of them plays a critical role. Presently, however,
We are committed and determined to realise the public money only goes to public institutions,
constitutional right to Health in the shortest time which means that people who are not insured have
possible by delivering a Universal Health Coverage to pay out-of-pocket for primary health services at
(UHC) system built on three pillars as follows: faith-based and private providers, often because
1. Provide National Health Insurance Fund the public health facilities are not responsive. We
coverage for all of Kenyans without exclusion believe that Kenyans should have choice and they
in the policy of “Leaving No One Behind”; should use their tax money where they get the
2. Employ and initiate payment for community best value. To this end, we will delink financing
health workers who shall form part of the of primary healthcare from public facilities by
Primary Health Care system; establishing stakeholder managed Primary Health
3. Prioritise employment of 20,000 healthcare Care (PHC) Funds as strategic purchasers at each
workers- doctors, nurses, clinical officers, “Level 4” facility.
laboratory technologists, physiotherapists,
among others, to bridge the gap according to Health Commodity Supply
WHO recommendations of 23 HC per 10,000 We will also establish a stakeholder-managed
population; national procurement scheme (along the lines of
4. Set up an emergency medical treatment fund the petroleum products procurement) to leverage
to cater for emergency, cancer treatment and on bulk purchase and ensure transparency and
referrals; accountability in the public procurement process.
5. Establish a commission for the management
of human resources for Health without KEMSA scandals must end.
undermining devolution; Pharmaceuticals and consumable medical supplies
6. Set aside Sh50 billion for Kenya Association of account for an estimated 20 per cent of total health
Retired Officers medical schemes; expenditures, which translates to a domestic
7. Harmonise the terms of employment for all market worth Sh110 billion. Pharmaceutical
healthcare workers in the spirit of equal work imports in 2020 were Sh76 billion (70 per cent
for equal pay; of the Sh110 billion estimated market), meaning
8. Integrate preventive and promotive services/ that when other imported supplies are factored
establish MDT (a primary healthcare approach) in, domestic production supplies are less than 20
as envisioned in our Afya Bora Mashinani;
9. Set aside a seed deposit amount of Sh100 per cent. Domestic pharmaceutical manufacturers
have the capacity to manufacture a bigger share
billion into co-funding the strategic programs competitively, but are hampered by the high cost
for HIV, tuberculosis, blood transfusion, malaria, of doing business and a hash tax regime (to the
family planning and reproductive Health;
10.Ring-fence funds for healthcare from facility extent of shifting manufacturing to neighbouring
improvement funds to allocations from EAC countries and exporting to Kenya).
the Treasury in collaboration with county We will:
governments; a) Work with the pharmaceutical industry to
11.Bringing the cost of treatment down, (drugs, address the tax regime and cost of doing
consultation, laboratory services, imaging business;
services.); b) Leverage on UHC to identify and scale up
12.Build supply chain management system manufacturing of essential supplies we can do
(KEMSA) to ensure efficiency and accountability competitively;
in the medical supplies to all Health facilities; c) Leverage on our human per capita to
13.Integrate Information Communication and work towards a regional pharmaceutical
Technology systems to enhance telemedicine manufacturing hub.
and Health management information systems.
14.Immediately operationalise a National Health 5. Decide Issues of Health Service Commission
Information System for Electronic Health in 100 Days in Office
Records (EHR) to standardise and ensure the Our Health professionals feel shortchanged by
portability of patient data. devolution of Health services. They are of the view
that they and Health services in general, would
be better served by a centralised system similar to
4. Implementation and Reforms – Stakeholder-
managed Primary Healthcare Funds that of teachers, noting that the Teachers Service
Commission (TSC) is entrenched in the Constitution.
They have proposed a similar Health Service
Primary Healthcare System
We recognise that our healthcare system consists of Commission that should also be entrenched in the
public, private and faith-based providers and each Constitution. But county governments consider

Kenya Medical Directory 41