Kenya Hosts the 1st National Health Financing Dialogue

Nairobi Tuesday June 27, 2023

KNA by Emma Jolly Wambui

Kenya made history Monday by hosting the National Health Financing Dialogue, becoming the first East African country and the third in Africa to organise this crucial event.

The dialogue aimed to address pressing issues of sustainable financing in the healthcare sector and devise effective implementation strategies.

During the opening of the national high-level dialogue on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on behalf of President Ruto said that the 32nd African Union (AU) meeting held by the head of states in 2019 resolved to increase domestic sources for health through the Africa Leadership Meeting (ALM).

Mudavadi said that the government is committed to increase the domestic funding for health by allocating a significant portion of the national budget to healthcare provision through strengthening the tax systems to broaden the tax base and ensure that the tax laws are fair and inequitable.

He highlighted that the government is investing in the digitization of government systems that will promote job transparency, improve efficiency and combat corruption.

“Through this we can generate the necessary revenue to invest in healthcare infrastructure, procure essential medicines, equipment and recruitment of skilled health care professionals,” the Prime CS emphasised.

Mudavadi said that focus on primary health care strategies such as vaccination, health education and early disease infection and treatment can reduce burden of illnesses and in turn free up resources that can be redirected towards strengthening the health systems.

“It has been shown that for every dollar investment in primary care, the return on investment is Sixteen dollars,” said Mudavadi.

Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha emphasised the government's commitment to placing the Kenyan healthcare system on a sustainable financing pathway.

She highlighted the significant increase in budgetary allocation to health in recent years, reflecting the government's strong dedication to prioritizing healthcare.

“County governments also demonstrated their commitment by steadily increasing health budgets from 13.5 per cent to 28.2 per cent between 2013 and 2022,” noted Nakhumicha.

In attendance were dignitaries, including officers from the Ministry of Health, Principal Secretaries Kimtai Harry and Mary Muthoni, as well as the Chairperson of the Council of Governors (COG), Anne Waiguru, among others.

Courtesy ; K. N. A