Duale holds consultative meeting with governors to address health challenges
Forum focused on emerging issues with a key emphasis on strengthening Primary Health Care
The ministry of Health and Council of Governors (CoG) have had a meeting today in Naivasha to address teething challenges affecting service delivery in counties.
Health Cabinet Secretary Hon. Aden Duale attended the high-level consultative meeting haired by Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, who chairs CoG’s Health Committee. The session is focused on addressing emerging issues in the health sector, with a key emphasis on strengthening Primary Health Care (PHC).
This meeting follows up on a previous engagement held on April 14 at CoG, aimed at accelerating the effective implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC)—a flagship priority under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
The CS was accompanied to the event by Principal Secretaries Dr Ouma Oluga (Medical Services) and Mary Muthoni (Public Health and Professional Standards) as well as Director General for Health Dr Patrick Amoth. Also, in attendance are CoG Deputy Chairperson Mutahi Kahiga and the Kenya Paediatric Research Consortium (KAPRECON) team, led by Dr. Fred Were.
Counties have struggled to meet demand and expectation from the citizens with a key issue being the Social Health Insurance Fund which has heavily affected healthcare. This has necessitated a crisis that has forced government through Social Health Authority (SHA) and other players to work out solutions to avert much bigger problems.
Duale made a presentation on the status of the UHC implementation, including the Digital Health System and SHA, among other others.
In a separate event, the CS alongside Acting CEO of Digital Health Agency Anthony Lenaiyara met with the Clinical Officers Council led by Prof Samuel Kang’ethe. The meeting focused a lot on regulatory reforms to boost healthcare quality and safety under UHC. The Cabinet Secretary emphasized the urgent need to fully digitise COC systems in line with the ministry’s Digital Health Strategy, noting that digital integration will enable real-time oversight and help eliminate malpractice.
In a firm directive, Hon. Duale stated: “Do not license any clinical officer trained in an institution that has not been duly merited, inspected, and audited by the Council.” He reiterated that safeguarding the standards of training and professional practice is paramount to ensuring the health and safety of the public.”
To reinforce accountability, the CS instructed the Council to undertake a comprehensive re-inspection of all licensed health facilities and submit detailed reports to the Ministry. He also called for the full digitization of COC systems in alignment with the Ministry’s Digital Health Strategy and the Digital Health Agency, to facilitate real-time oversight and eliminate malpractice.
