• The CS said critics are trying to paint Kenya's healthcare as wanting.
• Uhuru said more tan10,000 Kenyans seek medical care outside the country, taking away Sh10 billion annually.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe on Monday said Kenya's health system is 'not that bad'.
He scolded critics called it wanting.
"We are not that bad. We are going to do better. Let it not look like we are collapsing," he said.
The CS spoke at the first Kenya Healthcare Convention at Sarit Centre in Nairobi.
President Uhuru Kenyatta attended the opening session of the two-day convention. It brings together medical practitioners to discuss promoting Kenya as a regional medical hub and healthcare investment destination.
Amref Health Africa partnered with Express Communications Limited, publishers of the Kenya Medical Directory, and the Ministry of Health to host the convention.
Kagwe said the fact that patients from neighbouring countries are still seeking treatment in Kenya means the sector is not as bad as it is being painted.
He acknowledged, however, that there are 'challenges' facing the health sector, including the high cost of medicine.
The CS said the cost of healthcare should be less than or equal to that of India, the heart of medical tourism.
Uhuru said more than 10,000 Kenyans seek medical care outside the country, taking away Sh10 billion annually. He said cancer makes up 50 per cent of those seeking treatment in other countries.
Kagwe said he will do everything possible to ensure there are quality services that are regulated and coordinated through policies.
The CS said he is going to establish an ICT directorate in the ministry to fully automate the health sector. This will start at Afya House, he said.
On Coronavirus, Kagwe urged Kenyans to maintain hygiene at all times.
Earlier, a health scholar said the country is ill-prepared to handle coronavirus.
Professor Khama Rogo asked how the government will handle the virus yet it has failed to deal with cholera. He said it is not a question of if but when the virus hits the country.
"It is highly unlikely that the country can handle coronavirus. We must diminish hyperbole and face facts," he said.
Rogo claimed that 60 per cent of health workers are always absent from work.
"That is why when health workers go on strike, nobody is concerned," he said.
Rogo said it has become "politically correct" to employ community health workers because they neither complain nor strike.
He said the move has pushed skilled workers to the streets.
Rogo said corruption has been rampant in the health sector due to the huge volumes of procurement. He said corruption continues to steal time, equipment, medication and infrastructure.
He said nobody should get away with stealing from the sick.
"Today, we pay three to five times the cost of medication in India," Rogo said.
(Edited by A. N'dung'u)