Kenya is moving towards enhancing its basic health care system through the Primary Health Care Optimization Initiative, a government-run initiative through the Ministry of Health with the support of Amref Health Africa in Kenya and other stakeholders.
The programme is founded on successes in community health, where 8.8 million households are now registered on the e-Community Health Information System.
This has resulted in millions of Kenyans having been screened for conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and maternal and child health illnesses.
Another 228 Primary Care Networks have already been implemented across all 47 counties.
Public Health and Professional Standards Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni in a stakeholder forum said the reforms aim to take Kenya’s health system “from dependency to sustainability.” She said the plan is supported by foundational laws, including the Social Health Authority Act, the Primary Health Care Act, the Facility Improvement Financing Act, and the Digital Health Act.
In the future, Muthoni further stated that by 2028, Kenya had set a goal of having an established prevention-focused, people-centered, and financially sustainable health system, with communities as the full stakeholders in their own health development.
