Kenya: Funding Rule to Help Improve Health Services in Isiolo

Isiolo County will enact the Facility Improvement Fund (FIF) regulation in an effort to ensure improved services across the region’s health facilities.

County Assembly Speaker Hussein Roba said the House will expedite the enactment so that public hospitals efficiently carry out their operations and enjoy independence in the management of revenue collected from user fees.

The fund is drawn from cash, insurance schemes and grants and accounts for 3-5 per cent of total county allocations.

The Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, 2012 had barred counties from retaining, banking and spending the collected revenue, which must be submitted to the County Revenue Fund (CRF) account from where the health facilities request for the funds.

The bureaucracies resulted in less funding to the hospitals, delays in procurement of essential supplies and reduced donor support due to the restrictions in finance management.

But Section 109 (2) of the PFM Act allows the public health facilities to raise, retain and use the generated revenue without having to go through the CRF.

Hospitals’ autonomy

Speaking during a session supported by USAid-funded Nawiri in Nanyuki, Mr Roba said the fund will ensure increased spending on healthcare and also give hospitals autonomy to enhance residents’ access to quality services.

“We will fast-track the enactment so that health facilities have autonomy over the resources they generate and increase investment towards the health sector,” said Mr Roba during the event also attended by a section of local MCAs.

Isiolo Health Executive Wario Galma said the fund will ensure improved performance of the health facilities and decentralise decision making in the health sector.

“It will entrench the culture of performance across the health facilities,” said Mr Galma.

Other counties where FIF has contributed to improved health services include Nakuru, Makueni and Mombasa.