President Uhuru Kenyatta falnked by his deputy William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Thursday launched the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) pilot project in Kisumu County in which will be one among four counties where the project will be piloted.
Many Kenyans however still don’t understand what exactly the government is seeking to achieve through this major project that is key and at the heart of Jubilee’s Big Four Agenda that will mark the second term of Uhuru Kenyatta.
According to the World Health Organization [WHO], Universal health coverage (UHC) means that all people and communities can 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.
This definition of UHC embodies three related objectives:
- Equity in access to health services – everyone who needs services should get them, not only those who can pay for them;
- The quality of health services should be good enough to improve the health of those receiving services; and
- People should be protected against financial-risk, ensuring that the cost of using services does not put people at risk of financial harm.
Besides Kisumu, Nyeri, Isiolo and Machakos counties will also pilot the first phase of the programme that targets 3.2 million Kenyans with full roll-out in all the 47 counties expected by 2022. UHC is firmly based on the WHO constitution of 1948 declaring health a fundamental human right and on the Health for All agenda set by the Alma Ata declaration in 1978. UHC cuts across all of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and brings hope of better health and protection for the world’s poorest.
The government seeks to Enlist 37,000 banking sector agent network: 4 banks, 3 mobile telecom networks and also gradually increment of budgetary allocation to health (from 7% in 2017 to 10% 2022).
A 2014 World Bank report on healthcare in Kenya showed that only 20 per cent of Kenyans have access to medical insurance.