This archive report was first published on 10 September 2019.
On September 10, 2019, the Kenyan government announced its intention to roll out pre-payment of healthcare as a means of reducing out-of-pocket expenditure, a key impediment to the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Dr. Rashid A. Aman, Chief Administrative Secretary at the Ministry of Health, stated that this initiative is part of the UHC program. He made these remarks during the Commercial Bank of Africa's (CBA) sixth Economic Forum, which focused on the status of the Health Sector in Kenya.
Experts Discuss Healthcare Progress and Challenges ¶
The forum brought together various experts from the health sector to discuss the progress made thus far, identify areas of improvement, and explore the contributions of the private sector in enabling the provision of quality, affordable universal healthcare.
Dr. Aman emphasized the importance of financial sector experts, banks, and investors in providing innovative financing solutions for pre-payment of health. He added that the government will facilitate an enabling environment through interventions that will manage the cost of healthcare, including price regulation of essential medicines and commodities, to reduce high claim costs experienced by both the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and private medical insurers.
CBA's CEO for Kenya, Jeremy Ngunze, highlighted the significance of investment in health, stating that it is not only desirable but also an essential priority for societies. He noted that health is the greatest social capital a nation can have, and without a healthy, productive citizenship, a country cannot be economically stable.
Government Increases Funding to the Health Sector ¶
According to the government, funding to the sector has increased. In the financial year 2018/19, the national government increased its allocation to health by 56% from Ksh62.0 Billion (5.8% of spending) to Ksh97.08 Billion (6.8% of total spending), and held it at Ksh93.0 Billion in the 2019/20 budget. NHIF recruitment has also increased substantially, especially in the counties.
Other panellists included Dr. Amit N. Thakker, Chairman of the Africa Healthcare Federation, and Mr. Charles Kariuki, Managing Director of AAR Healthcare Kenya Ltd, among others.
Universal health coverage ensures that all people use the promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative health services they need, of sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The CBA Economic Forum was launched in January 2018 and is held thrice a year with a specific topic each time. The forum held earlier this year focused on the Housing Sector, and previous forums have discussed Kenya's tax structure, agriculture, and the manufacturing industry.
