Mandera East enrols 2,000 families in NHIF

Two thousand Mandera East households were on Monday enrolled into the National Health Insurance Fund and given cards.

They can be used next week, residents won't have to wait the usual 60 days, NHIF area manager Ahmed Yaqub said.

MP Omar Salah handed over a cheque for Sh12 million to the NHIF Mandera branch to provide coverage for vulnerable residents. He said it would ease the burden on many families of paying for medical services.

Universal health coverage is part of President Uhuru Kenyatta's Big Four agenda.

Salah urged hospitals not to overcharge.

He encouraged residents yet to enrol to do so soon, saying NHIF coverage will greatly help them.

“We all know how families undergo a lot of challenges and are unable to meet the cost especially when they are suffering from diseases that require a lot of financial resources. For this reason, I urge residents to register," Salah said.

Many poor residents who can't afford medical care resort to traditional herbal treatments that don't help.

Governor Ali Roba early this year launched the county's first renal unit and flagged-off county ambulances. Many people travel for days by road to get treatment at public hospitals. Only a few can afford private care.

"We all know the health sector in Mandera was in a mess before devolution. Residents struggled to get proper healthcare at local facilities but we have managed to address the situation," Roba said.

In two years, the county is expected to roll out specialised treatment units in all the health facilities to help bridge the big gap between the rich and the poor.

The health department will put up CT-scan machines, renal units and mental health units in Level 5 hospitals.

The county has allocated 20 per cent of it's budget to the health sector.

Health Executive Mohamed Eda, in a separate interview, said the county has increased the number of health workers from 150 to 950.

(Edited by V. Graham)