- It mainly targets women and children from low-income backgrounds who heavily rely on primary healthcare services.
- Refugees and host communities in Garissa and Turkana are also key beneficiaries.
Kenya's primary health care programme has received a $215 million (Sh28.6 billion) funding.
Out of this, $160 million is from the International Development Association (IDA), $40 million from the IDA window for host communities and refugees, and $15 million from the Global Financing Facility.
The support mainly targets women and children from low-income backgrounds who heavily rely on primary healthcare services, as well as refugees and host communities in Garissa and Turkana.
The lender estimates the project to address the needs of approximately 1.8 million host community members and 590,000 refugees in these counties.
The funding is also intended to enhance the country’s institutional capacity.
“The project will strengthen the capacity of key institutions that will play a critical role in Kenya’s progress towards universal health coverage (UHC)," the lender says.
"The capacity of the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) for instance, will be strengthened to ensure timely availability of health products and technologies at the primary health care (PHC) level and enhanced transparency and accountability in fiduciary processes.”
The project will also address challenges related to geographical inequities, health financing and quality of care reforms, staffing, parallel health services for refugees with limited county engagement, as well as availability and use of quality data for decision making.
World Bank country director for Kenya Keith Hansen said the funding would contribute towards laying a solid foundation for the delivery of health services.
“It will improve the provision and utilisation of quality primary health care services to support evidence-based decisions, ultimately improving health outcomes,” Hansen said.
He said the project seeks to support the government’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) reforms agenda, including the transition from the National Health Insurance Fund to the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Jane Chuma, the senior health economist and task team leader at World Bank, said it would mainly support the implementation process including the operationalisation of SHA, the development of business processes and benefit packages, and the strengthening of regulatory bodies.
The project according to the lender aligns with its FY23-28 country partnership framework’s objectives, particularly on the need to increase access to social health insurance, improving access to quality health care services and expanding UHC reforms.
“It will also directly contribute to the priorities identified in the Kenya Health Policy 2014-2030, the Kenya Health Sector Strategic Plan (2018-2023), the Kenya UHC Policy (2020-2030), and the Kenya Health Financing Strategy (2020-2030).”