This archive report was first published on 11 May 2021.
Kenya's government has been urged to engage the private sector more in funding universal healthcare, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Eyong Ebai, General Manager of General Electric (GE) Health for sub-Saharan Africa, the pandemic has demonstrated that governments alone cannot fund public health systems.
Speaking in a recent interview, Ebai emphasized the importance of creating demand-side activity to support governments in funding public health systems.
He suggested that health insurance programs, such as national health insurance schemes like those in Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa, can help share risk and provide services to the general public.
As the country prepares for the 2021/2022 budget, the National Treasury has allocated Sh121 billion to the Health Ministry, representing an increase of Sh3 billion from the current financial year.
Additionally, Treasury has allocated Sh47.7 billion for the universal healthcare plan, bringing the total allocation to the country's health sector at Sh168 billion for the 2021/2022 financial year.
However, this represents only 1.7 per cent of the country's GDP, which is below the international average spending for low-income countries that stood at 6.3 per cent as of 2019.
Ebai also suggested that governments can tap into regional authorities through developing state or provincial-wide health insurance schemes that will directly benefit local communities.
He emphasized the need to tap into both the informal and formal sectors to provide coverage for individuals when they become unwell.
