- He said among the poorest of Kenya’s population, only three per cent have healthcare insurance.
- “An overwhelming majority of our people therefore rely on out-of-pocket expenses to pay for treatment,” said Raila.
Image: JOHN CHESOLI
Four out of five Kenyans have no access to medical insurance meaning Kenyans are leaving precariously and are under the mercy of God, ODM leader Raila Odinga has said.
He said among the poorest of Kenya’s population, only three per cent have healthcare insurance.
“An overwhelming majority of our people therefore rely on out-of-pocket expenses to pay for treatment,” Raila said.
He spoke on Saturday at Treasury Square in Mombasa where he presided over the renewal of a Sh18 million NHIF cover for 12,000 Mvita constituents.
The cost is covered by the Mvita NG-CDF.
Raila said payment for treatment from individual pockets has piled more pressure on millions of Kenyans who drop into poverty every year because of health expenses.
“There is evidence that there are people who avoid going to health facilities even though they need the services because they fear the cost associated with such a visit,” he said.
He said hundreds of Kenyans have died during this Covid-19 crisis mainly because they could not afford treatment cost even when they could access the facilities.
He said this means that for a greater percentage of the Kenyan population, dropping into poverty or dropping dead is just an infection away.
“This burden has to be taken away from the necks of our people,” Raila said.
The Covid-19 pandemic, he said, has returned the attention to the affordability and availability of quality healthcare.
“Despite the fact that healthcare is a constitutional right, quality healthcare is not just unavailable to most Kenyans, it is also unaffordable,” said Raila adding that the most hit are the poor in both urban and rural areas.
He said Kenyans are crying for and deserve insurance subsidies to cover their inpatient and outpatient health services in both public and private hospitals.
Universal Healthcare for all Kenyans has always been a dream for Kenya but it’s take off has been slow, and marred with challenges, some of which have been man-made, he said.
During the Narc government, Health minister Charity Ngilu presented to Parliament a bill on Universal Healthcare, but the National Assembly shot it down.
A second attempt was made during the grand coalition government when the National Hospital Insurance Fund was to be turned into a major institution of provision of health insurance, Raila said.
He asked Kenyans to adopt and appreciate the health agenda.
Raila said political will was crucial in the realisation of national policy goals.
“Provision of quality, affordable and accessible healthcare is challenging anywhere on earth, including in developed countries,” he said.
He said initiatives geared towards provision of medical insurance to the poor should be appreciated.
The BBI process, he said, has envisaged ways in which to address the healthcare matter and even provided for access to quality services.
He said Kenya cannot claim to be one nation when only a few can afford to access quality healthcare anywhere in the world while the majority wait to die when they fall sick.
“That is why we came up with the Health Amendment Bill to establish the National Health Commission,” Raila said.
The commission, he said, is expected to make recommendations on policies for the management of healthcare workers and monitor implementation of national policies in management of healthcare.
Edited by P.O