This archive report was first published on 16 July 2020.
On Thursday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe launched the Primary Health Care (PHC) Strategic Framework and the Community Health Policy in Nakuru county, Kenya. The framework recognizes the importance of social determinants of health and focuses on reducing long-standing disparities in health.
According to Kagwe, the primary health care approach has been recognized globally as an effective way of making improvements in healthcare delivery and addressing the heavy burden of diseases. This approach contributes to better health, socioeconomic development, and achieving Universal Health Coverage.
Speaking during his visit to Nakuru county, Kagwe emphasized the importance of community empowerment in the primary health care approach. He noted that this approach was adopted by countries 42 years ago at Alma Ata and reaffirmed in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2018 through the Astana Declaration, which Kenya is a signatory to.
As part of the implementation of the PHC, the Ministry of Health has developed the Primary Health Care Strategic Framework 2019-2024. The framework aims to support the implementation of PHC and has recruited and is training 31,780 community health volunteers to ensure full coverage of community health services in the country.
The Ministry has also developed the Community Health Policy 2020-2030, which will lead to better leadership and governance of community health services at both national and county levels. The policy addresses issues such as recruitment, training, and deployment of community health workforce, as well as a stronger and responsive community health information system.
On a related note, Kenya reported 421 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, out of 3,895 samples tested in the past 24 hours. The total number of confirmed cases now stands at 11,673, with 512 patients recovering from the disease while on home-based care within the last 24 hours.
