Cuban specialist doctors have not been utilised effectively in most counties, Health CS Sicily Kariuki has said.
The CS on Wednesday attributed this to numerous challenges ranging from lack of equipment and transport for the doctors on their outreach services.
"Inappropriate deployment and organization of county health services need to be addressed for the effective use of these specialists," the CS said.
According to Kariuki, the additional human resource capacity provided by the Cuban Family physicians deployed to all counties will further enhance the country's capacity to improve Primary Health care services, given Cuba’s long-standing successful use of this approach in health service delivery.
She said rational deployment, appropriate utilisation and supervision especially of the Cuban family physicians will go a long way in addressing the human resource constraints for primary health care services as the country rolls out UHC.
"To this end, I request that we facilitate the Cuban doctors with the required equipment as well as transport for community health outreaches as a measure to ensure that Kenyans benefit from their services," she said.
The batch of 100 doctors arrived in the country in June last year in the culmination of a deal signed between Kenya and Cuba for the deployment of 100 specialist doctors.
The specialists include among others five nephrologists, three radiologists, plastic surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons and neurologists.
The CS spoke during the 12th Health Sector Inter-Governmental Consultative Forum held at the Kenya School Of Monetary Studies in Nairobi.