Some 300,000 households in Machakos will benefit from affordable medical services once the universal healthcare coverage is rolled out today.
Machakos, Kisumu, Isiolo and Nyeri were selected for a pilot programme to cost Sh3.9 billion over what the counties have allocated for health services.
President Uhuru Kenyatta was expected to launch the pilot phase on December 1 to coincide with World Aids Day celebrations. This was, however, pushed to today. Kisumu will host the event.
Last month, Machakos governor Alfred Mutua said the county is eager to launch the programme. He urged residents to turn out en mass and enrol to benefit. Registration ended yesterday.
“To ensure we register as many residents as possible, in addition to the door-to-door household registration, I’ve asked my officers to set up registration drives during market days across all subcounties, and set up registration desks at public facilities like hospitals and even supermarkets,” Mutua said.
benefits
The UHC package will include services accessible in public health facilities. Some of the proposed benefits include provision of door-to-door screening for noncommunicable diseases, immunisation, antenatal care, outpatient services and inpatient services.
Others are issuance of mosquito nets, drainage of stagnant water and inspection of eating places, abattoirs and health facilities.
The government says the four counties were selected through an evidence-based process, considering their disease burden.
Kisumu leads in infectious diseases, especially TB and HIV-Aids.
Machakos records the highest number of injuries mostly from accidents that occur on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.
Nyeri leads in noncommunicable diseases, especially diabetes. Isiolo was chosen to establish how the package could suit nomadic and migratory populations.
Machakos chief Health officer Jack Nthanga welcomed the inclusion of the county, saying it is a “perfect Christmas gift” for residents. He said the majority couldn’t access basic healthcare services because of poverty.
health-poverty nexus
The county has put in place measures to ensure it reaps maximum benefits.
“We’ve been going around the county sensitising residents about this scheme to ensure none is left out. Although the programme is solely being funded by the national government, counties will play the most crucial role of ensuring its success,” Nthanga said.
Access to UHC is one of the World Bank’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and increasing equity and shared prosperity.
A 2017 joint report from the World Bank and World Health Organization shows that half the world’s population cannot access health services, while 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty each year because of health expenses.
In addition, 800 million people use at least 10 per cent or more of their household income on healthcare expenses.
historical accounts
The first move towards a national health insurance system was launched in Germany in 1883, with the Sickness Insurance Law.
Industrial owners were mandated to provide injury and illness insurance for their low-wage workers, and the system was funded and administered by employees and employers through “sick funds”, which were drawn from deductions from workers’ wages and from employers’ contributions.
In the UK, the National Insurance Act, 1911, provided primary care coverage for wage earners, covering about one third of the country’s population.
The Russian Empire established a similar system in 1912. Other industrialised followed suit. By the 1930s, similar systems existed virtually in the whole of Western and Central Europe.
Beyond the 1990s, many countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and the Asia–Pacific took steps to bring their populations under universal healthcare.
Ghana, Rwanda, Nigeria, Mali, Kenya, India, Vietnam and the Philippines are pilot states. They have been on the WHO focus in the implementation of UHC since 2012.