County governments have refused to pay for the equipment and drugs supplied to their medical facilities by the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority. We have also witnessed endless strikes by health workers protesting poor pay.
Patients end up suffering in hospitals due to lack of medical attention and well-equipped wards. Every regime that comes into power promises a massive investment into the health sector but to date, we have very little to celebrate. We have recently witnessed deplorable conditions of one of the county government hospitals in Central. Reports in the media have painted Kerugoya County Referral Hospital as a health hazard.
This is where patients go to seek better health and nurses are reported to have contracted hepatitis B from poor sanitation. This could have brought forth an outbreak of other diseases including cholera. We have also witnessed quack medical officers doing shoddy work and leading to loss of innocent lives. A recent case includes the seven-month-old baby who received an overdose jab injection at one of the medical facilities in Athi River.
All these scenarios depict a clear picture of how our health sector is rotten. An audit needs to be done to ascertain how qualified how health officers are. We also need to invest heavily in the health sector. Kenyans should not be afraid of contracting diseases at the very facilities they are supposed to visit when they are not in good health.
Let all the concerned parties take responsibility. It is just ironical that President Uhuru Kenyatta recently launched the Universal Health Coverage, yet all these deplorable conditions are in the limelight. It is the lives of innocent Kenyans at stake and the leadership’s legacy.
Writer and blogger
