This archive report was first published on 9 October 2019.
Published on October 9, 2019, a controversy surrounding the importation of mobile health clinics at a cost of Sh800 million has persisted for three years, sparking questions about the Health ministry's decision-making process.
The clinics, which are essentially containers fitted with medical equipment, were imported as part of a larger Sh5 billion scandal. However, there is still no clarity on who the intended beneficiaries were, how the clinics would be used, or whether staff were trained to operate them.
As a result, the clinics were left to gather dust at a National Youth Service yard in Mombasa, exposed to the elements. But in a surprising turn of events, a group of experts inspected the clinics and gave them a clean bill of health, sparking a new challenge: determining what to do with them.
With public money used to acquire the clinics, any benefit derived from them would be a return on an ill-advised investment. Counties, which have struggled to run healthcare services, could potentially make use of the clinics. However, they were not consulted on the matter and lack the capacity to handle the equipment, as evident from frequent strikes by health workers and difficulties in paying salaries.
Given the circumstances, the Health ministry should consider taking over the clinics and exploring ways to derive value from them. This would prevent the clinics from being discarded like scrap metal, ensuring that public funds are not wasted.
