Nairobi County Assembly members (MCAs) will this afternoon start debating a Bill seeking to regulate health services and facilities in the city.
The Nairobi City County Health Services Bill, 2025 is sponsored by Kilimani MCA Moses Ogeto (ODM), who is also the Majority Whip.
It was first tabled on 3rd June 2025 and will undergo the second reading stage where members debate its contents.
Ogeto says the main object of the Bill is to provide a legal framework for implementing Section 2 of Part 2 of the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution, which assigns health services as a county function.
“Secondly, the Bill aims at regulating, facilitating, and enhancing health service delivery in the county by structuring the management of health facilities,” he says.
The proposed law seeks to promote access to health services, facilitate the realization of the right to health care as provided for under Article 43 of the Constitution, as well as the realization of consumer health rights.
It also provides for principles of health service delivery which include management of health services that adopt the health systems approach as prescribed by the World Health Organization, observance and protection of health rights of individuals, and delivery of health services.
The Bill further provides for the administration and management of health services within the functions of the department responsible for health services.
It also provides for the classification of health facilities as county hospital, sub-county hospital, health centre, dispensary, and community health unit.
“It also provides for the establishment of respective management and administration which includes County and Sub-County Hospital Management Teams, the Boards of hospitals, and committees for health centres and dispensaries,” the memorandum of the Bill states.
The Bill, if passed, will provide parameters of health service delivery by obligating the Department and each county health facility to adopt a health service delivery system that is effective, safe, of good quality, cost-effective, accessible, based on continuity of care across health conditions, across different locations and over time, demand-driven, and integrated, among others.
“It also provides for the rights and duties of patients and health service personnel, the requirements that health services focus on health outcomes, the preparation of health promotion policies as well as primary health services, disease control, and preparation of a ten-year health plan which will guide development in the health services sector.”
Ogeto’s Bill establishes each health facility as a planning unit for the purposes of budgeting and provision of health services and obligates the Executive Committee Member to establish specialized units such as maternal health, child health, and mental health.
“It provides for certification of quality management systems, establishment of quality and compliance assurance units, the conduct of inspections and audits, handling of complaints, reporting mechanisms, and establishment of a county health sector stakeholders’ forum, among others.”
Section 7 states that all health facilities in the County shall be classified in accordance with the Ministry of Health Guidelines as: (a) County hospitals/Level 5 (b) Sub-County hospitals/Level 4 (c) Health centres/Level 3 (d) Dispensaries and Clinics/Level 2; and (e) Community health units/Level 1.
Section 13 of the Bill provides that a county and a sub-county hospital shall be governed by a Hospital Management Board appointed and gazetted by the Executive Committee Member with the approval of the County Assembly.
The Bill also provides for Private Health Sector services, including licensing of private entities to operate health facilities, supervision of private health facilities, and public-private partnerships, and seeks to establish the E-health and Health Information System.
