Over-Regulation, Politics, and Business Interests Are Suffocating Healthcare Sector

By Robert Mutasi 

The health system in this country is in ruins due to overly stringent regulations, political interference, and private interests rather than a lack of resources or qualified staff.

These issues are choking the system and keeping it from providing millions of Kenyans with high-quality services, as was revealed during a recent meeting of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Health.

It is startling to learn that Kenya's health system operates under at least forty-three different legal frameworks. Instead of simplifying services, the legal maze has led to inefficiencies. 

In addition to contributing to an administrative bottleneck that delays the delivery of services, redundant laws confuse the administration of healthcare personnel. 

Health professionals are distracted from their primary duty of saving lives by bureaucracy. 

For the sector's operations to run more smoothly, legal consolidation is also desperately needed.

Political interference is one of the most important bottlenecks. Prof. Khama Rogo and associates correctly noted that political affiliations must not be present in healthcare. 

However, political appointments and needless delays in official confirmation are commonplace in Kenya's system. 

A good example of how politics stymies meritocracy is the case of Dr. Patrick Amoth, who endured for nearly five years in spite of his qualifications.

 Professionals become disillusioned by such delays, which also jeopardize the leadership continuity needed to propel healthcare reforms.

The system has even been influenced by business interests, which prioritize profits over patient care. 

The majority of medical professionals choose to work in private hospitals rather than fulfilling their obligations in public health facilities. 

This is caused by business incentives that favor privatization over public service, in addition to the low pay and working conditions in the public sector.

 The government must address this disparity by improving wages and working conditions and enforcing laws prohibiting conflicts of employment.

Radical reforms must be implemented quickly if Kenya is to have a fair and efficient health system. 

For the sector to be effectively regulated, laws must be harmonized, political meddling must be prevented, and commercial interests must not trump those of public health. 

In order to guarantee that healthcare becomes responsive to the needs of every Kenyan, Parliament must be actively involved in oversight, as the Committee Chair, Dr. Robert Pukuse, reminded us. 

The country's healthcare system will continue to be plagued by needless legal restrictions, political meddling, and corporate interests that prioritize profits over people's lives until these reforms are implemented.