By Emily Kiende
President William Ruto has declared that the newly signed United States – Kenya health pact unlocks USD 1.6 billion (KSh 206 billion) to revive the country’s healthcare system.
President Ruto said this partnership is set to significantly boost Kenya’s health delivery outcomes.
He reiterated this financial support will ease the burden of medical costs that have pushed many citizens into poverty.
“Many Kenyans have sunk into poverty and debt because of hospital medical bills,” President Ruto regretted. Speaking during the 12th National and County Governments Coordinating Summit at State House, Nairobi, the President affirmed that the assistance is not a loan.
The Head of State reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to far-reaching reforms to protect Kenyans from exploitation.
"Nobody, no government will take advantage of Kenyans" he assured.President Ruto added that Kenya’s health data remains secure, addressing doubts that were raised by a section of Kenyans.
He pointed the US had agreed to channel funds directly through government systems and not through Non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) to ensure efficiency.
The Head of State highlighted that the US has invested USD 7 billion in Kenya’s health sector over time.
The president reiterated that a core mandate of the summit is to assess the performance of devolution across both levels of government and identify areas requiring accelerated action.
“Devolution has not only drawn the machinery of governance to the people, but it has also energised counties to become genuine engines of local development,” the president stated.He pointed out that since devolution, counties have stepped up assertively in various ways including,
strengthening healthcare service delivery under the SHA reforms, expanding agricultural value chains, accelerating the establishment of county aggregation and industrial parks and adopting digital systems at the county level.
Further, the President announced the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) has already gazetted the transfer of more than 46,000 parcels of land and 8,062 housing units to county governments.
He said, an additional 34,000 parcels of land and over 1,000 housing units across 40 counties remain pending transfer.
Cabinet Secretaries, County Governors, and other dignitaries were in attendance.
