Kisumu will purchase hospital essentials for the Universal Health Coverage pilot programme after the state disbursed Sh435 million to the county.
County Health director Dickens Onyango on Thursday said the money was channelled to the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority for the release of drugs and other health essentials.
Onyango said this fund is among other benefits Kisumu is enjoying as one of the pilot counties. The others are Isiolo, Nyeri and Machakos
He said Kisumu will also benefit from specialised health products that will help treat emerging diseases.
Speaking in Kisumu during Western Kenya Dental Association Symposium, Onyango announced that out of the fund, Sh135 million will be used to purchase drugs for oral health.
Already, 900,000 households have been registered into the UHC, which is still under the piloting phase.
Onyango said the target for the registration stands at 1.1 million households and called upon unregistered residents to sign up.
“The response to UHC has been quite impressive and hospitals in the seven subcounties have recorded an increase on outpatients,” he said.
Earlier last month, Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya called upon the government to reform the National Health Insurance Fund and Kemsa. He said the two institutions are pivotal in implementing UHC.
“Kemsa has been a problem in delivering drugs on time. We at times order drugs but told they are out of stock.”
(Edited by R.Wamochie)
