Accelerating Universal Health Coverage in Kenya-How do we get there?

President Uhuru Kenyatta greets a one-day-old baby when he commissioned medical equipment at the Mwingi Level 4 Hospital in Kitui. Kenya. Credit: State HouseBy Werner Schultink and Rudi Eggers & Siddharth ChatterjeeNAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 27 2018 (IPS)The Government of Kenya has prioritized universal health coverage (UHC) in its Big 4 agenda over the next 5 years.This is a significant and perhaps the most important strategic priority. Why? Every year over a million Kenyans get trapped into poverty because of a catastrophic out of pocket payments due to health reasons. In 1978, health campaigners worldwide achieved a major breakthrough at the UN Alma-Ata Conference on Primary Health Care. This conference statement signaled a new approach to health care, often described as the ‘primary health care approach’ or the ‘Alma-Ata principles’ – deeply rooted in the social and structural determinants of health (such as poverty eradication), and emphasising the importance of health care being accountable and accessible to the people it serves. A global target of achieving “Health for All” by the year 2000 was established.How do we ensure that Universal Health Coverage is possible in Kenya by 2022?The answer is simple. The focus has to be on preventable and primary health care as emphasized in the Alma-Ata principles. The centrality of reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health will be critical to achieving UHC.Kenya has made considerable but slow progres...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Aid Featured Gender Headlines Health Human Rights Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Women's Health Source Type: news