Make UHC dream come true for poor Kenyans

President Uhuru will launch the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) at Port Reitz Hospital, Mombasa, today.

In 2018, UHC pilot projects were rolled out in Isiolo, Machakos, Nyeri and Kisumu counties.

It is part of the Jubilee Government’s Big Four Agenda; manufacturing, food security and nutrition, affordable housing and providing Universal health coverage for all Kenyans by 2022. Today's launch is therefore within the set time frame.

Of interest, however, is whether implementation will follow the launch. Too many well-intentioned projects have gone to waste after being launched. While by now all Kenyans should be having access to quality medical care at affordable prices, that remains a mirage for many.

The health burden is weighing heavy on the shoulders of poor Kenyans. Most do not get help from poorly run public hospitals that lack not just the latest state-of-the-art diagnostic machines, but things as basic as common medications.

Most patients who attend public hospitals are forced to buy drugs from private pharmacies. Needless to add, some of the pharmacies are owned by medical staff in public hospitals. The cost of drugs is undoubtedly beyond the means of poor citizens whose situation was made worse by the ravages of Covid-19.

Many Kenyans die from treatable diseases just because they are poor. It is for this reason, if nothing else, that the government should make UHC a resounding success story, not just an ambitious project on paper. No doubt, lessons drawn from four counties where UHC was piloted should enable the government to determine what works, what doesn't and how to improve the whole thing.

For UHC to succeed, corruption must be rooted out of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) that will oversee the UHC.

With reports of fake claims by health facilities and looting by staff, NHIF does not inspire confidence. Theft of medicines in public hospitals should be stopped and the Kenya Medical Supply Agency streamlined.