The government has signed a new agreement with major actors in the healthcare sector aimed at speeding up the delivery of medical equipment to hospitals across the country.
In the deal, national referral hospitals, the Social Health Authority (SHA), and the Digital Health Agency (DHA) will be brought under one umbrella to improve the efficiency of the National Equipment Service Programme (NESP) delivery.
This was done at a meeting attended by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale with suppliers in the program, led by businessman Richard Ngatia.
According to the agreement, the deal is meant to reduce delays and confusion on what each institution is expected to do. This is to ensure better cooperation among different actors in the healthcare sector.
The program, launched by President William Ruto in August 2025, is aimed at ensuring that hospitals, especially at the county level, are supplied with modern equipment for diagnosis and treatment.
Under this new plan, the government is working with various county governments through a fee-for-service approach, where facilities pay for the use of equipment over time.
So far, more than 200 healthcare facilities in 43 counties have received the equipment under the programme, with an investment of over 7 billion shillings.
According to health officials, this has already started bearing fruit, although gaps still exist in terms of specialised healthcare in certain areas of the country.
In a bid to fast-track this, regular check-ins, such as meetings every two weeks to assess progress, and talks with suppliers every month, have been introduced under the new framework. A short-term plan has also been developed to address delays and other issues in a quick manner.
The meeting was attended by top officials from the Ministry of Health, including the Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Mr. Ouma Oluga, among others from the Council of Governors and top management from top hospitals in the country.
The main goal, therefore, is to enable more citizens to access quality healthcare without having to travel long distances to seek specialised healthcare services.
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