Medical Services Principal Secretary Ouma Oluga has reaffirmed the government’s
commitment to providing affordable, accessible, and high-quality health
services for all Kenyans.
Speaking when he received a progress update from the National Equipment Service Programme (NESP), Oluga commended the ongoing efforts to strengthen health service delivery through provision of modern equipment.
“Equipping our health facilities with the right tools is a cornerstone of effective care. This is how we build a responsive, resilient health system,” Oluga said.
He particularly appreciated the team’s commitment and support for the programme, noting that it was instrumental in accelerating the country’s journey toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
NESP is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors (COG).
The report details the current interventions to equip public health facilities with modern medical technologies.
The multi-agency team, comprising officers from the Ministry and the COG, is driving the programme’s rollout across counties to support the delivery of quality health services.
NESP is designed to ensure continuous access to medical equipment in county health facilities across Kenya.
It was launched after the expiration of the Medical Equipment Service (MES) programme in December 2023. NESP builds on the successes of MES.
Under this programme, vendors are responsible for providing, maintaining, and upgrading equipment at no upfront cost to counties, with payments made based on services rendered under the Fee-for-Service (FFS) model.
A section of governors had initially opposed the plan by the national government to supply the equipment, arguing it was costly and a burden to the counties.
They even alleged that some of them had been forced into signing for the supply.
President William Ruto, however, denied the claims that some governors were forced to sign the deals for the NESP programme.
He said, “Anybody who says that they were forced by the national government to sign whatever contract is a liar.”
“There is nobody who forced them to sign any contract.”
He maintained that governors voluntarily entered into the contract with suppliers, adding that there are seven suppliers involved in the scheme.
“You would be a fool to be forced to sign the wrong thing and then come and talk about it.”
