President Kenyatta, governors lay ground for universal healthcare

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday met county governors and discussed implementation of universal healthcare for all, a key plank of his priorities in his second and final term as president.

The execution agenda include a pilot for 100 per cent access to universal healthcare in four counties, in a programme supported by the national government. A number of other counties have come forward for the trial of the programme as well, and are fleshing out details of how it will be done.

The President, governors and Kenya’s international partners agree that there is sufficient money in the economy to implement universal healthcare for all within the next five years, but want to see greater reform of the systems to ensure that maximum benefits are derived from the money available.

Universal healthcare for all, building 500,000 new homes, providing food security and nutrition, and significantly increasing the contribution of manufacturing in the economy are the President’s areas of focus in his second term, which started in November last year.

Some 11 governors attended the meeting at State House, including Chair of the health committee at the Council of Governors, Mohamed Kuti of Isiolo, and the Council’s Vice Chairperson, Anne Waiguru of Kirinyaga.

“Health and food security are important elements in our effort to improve the lives of our people. Fixing these things will have a huge impact on the lives of Kenyans,” the President told the governors. “Let’s work together to deliver on these.”

Governor Kuti and Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki will co-chair a committee looking at all elements required to make universal healthcare a roaring success and will report back within two weeks. Timing for the pilot project will be fixed after that.