MoH advances Kenya Health Policy Platform to bolster sector coordination

The Ministry of Health has moved to strengthen coordination and accountability in Kenya’s health sector through a high-level consultative forum on the proposed Kenya Health Policy Platform (HPP) and Reform Acceleration Platform.

The meeting, convened in Nairobi, brought together senior national and county government officials, development partners and various sector stakeholders to address emerging system challenges, including constrained financing, shifting disease burden and fragmented policy implementation.

According to the Ministry, these persistent gaps have reinforced the need for a more harmonised, government-led approach to accelerate Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Health PS Ouma Oluga speaking on January 20, 2026 / HANDOUT

Principal Secretary for Medical Services Ouma Oluga said the Platform represented a critical element of the government’s health reform agenda under Taifa Care and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

He stressed that the initiative would not create new bureaucratic structures but would instead align ongoing reform efforts, resource allocation and stakeholder actions to drive equitable outcomes.

"The Health Policy Platform is designed to strengthen health financing by aligning domestic and external resources, accelerate the scale-up of high-impact innovations, and enhance performance management and accountability through data-driven tools and joint reviews. It will also prioritise maternal and newborn health, with a focus on underserved and high-burden regions, in line with national UHC commitments," Oluga said.

Participants during a meeting chaired by Health PS Ouma Oluga on January 20, 2026 / HANDOUT

According to the Ministry, the Health Policy Platform aims to improve health financing by aligning domestic and external resource flows, accelerate the scale-up of high-impact innovations, and enhance performance and accountability through strengthened data systems and joint sector reviews.

Maternal and newborn health will be a priority focus, particularly in underserved and high-burden counties, in line with national UHC targets.

The consultative process is expected to continue over the coming weeks, with stakeholders given nine days to submit proposals.

These inputs will be consolidated by the end of January and validated in early February. The Platform is projected to be fully operational by March, marking a significant milestone in Kenya’s broader health sector reform drive.

Participants during a meeting chaired by Health PS Ouma Oluga on January 20, 2026 / HANDOUT