The facts needed to access affordable and quality healthcare

Rapid population expansion and a high illness load have put strain on Kenyan health services, contributing to poor outcomes. The country has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world and needs to increase capacity to address the rising demand for affordable healthcare.

Access to basic healthcare in Kenya remains a difficulty for the majority of the poor and, increasingly, low-income workers who must juggle to make ends meet while facing the demands of a high cost of living.

According to reports, just 1% of Kenyans are covered by contributory schemes, which means that most individuals would seek donations from friends and relatives if there is a medical emergency, while others may self-medicate, which can lead to death.

Even with public health insurance available since 1966, only 20% of Kenyans have access to some sort of medical coverage. With the population at over 44 million and rising, it means as many as 35 million Kenyans are excluded from quality health care coverage. In addition, a quarter of total spending on health care comes from out-of-pocket expenses.

The universal health coverage objective, one of four listed in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big 4 Agenda, promises to provide inexpensive health care for everybody. In order to attain UHC, there must be equal health access and better healthcare quality.

“Universal Health Coverage means much more than health care. It means ensuring that all Kenyans can get quality health services, where and when they need them, without suffering financial hardship,” said Health Cabinet Secretary 

Jayesh Saini recognizes that healthcare statistics encompass a wide range of topics that influence how governments and organizations operate. As an example, he stated that most governments and the WHO are presently providing daily updates on the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic, including information such as infections by age, gender, severity, hospitalizations, fatalities, recovered individuals, and vaccination levels.

This data informs the appropriate authorities on mitigating factors, areas of intervention, and the resources needed, among other things. Despite the damage wrought by the virus, lessons learned have awakened service providers’ eyes to the reality of where they are.

For example, there is a greater understanding of the number of beds in hospitals, the degree of critical care facilities, and the appropriate people in various levels of hospitals for better planning. It has been said again and again that persons with comorbidities are the most vulnerable. Several concerns have emerged as a result of this, with many individuals wanting to know what the numbers were before to the COVID-19, particularly in terms of deaths caused by these diseases, levels of their immunity-boosting effects, and where they are most common.

Globally, given the diverse socio-political and cultural contexts and capacities, there is no standard formula for UHC. However, many countries are taking actions to accelerate progress towards UHC, or to maintain their gains. Even in countries where health services have traditionally been accessible and affordable, governments need to constantly strive to respond to the ever-growing health needs of their populations and other threats, including developing financial sustainability to endure economic shocks.

Jayesh Saini and his wife Dr. Shalya have made significant investments in healthcare over the last almost two decades. In addition to Bliss Healthcare Limited, he operates Medicross Ltd, which consists of 22 outpatient centers prepared to provide comprehensive quality healthcare services.

Jayesh Saini argues that the government should establish a single database that is provided with such daily facts by all health facilities. This means that all healthcare providers – both public and private – must invest in a healthcare ICT system that is networked in such a way that the government has real-time data to stay on top of disease and care patterns. This will allow resources to be allocated more effectively, as well as detect any outbreaks sooner than if the news emerges after things are already too bad and have devolved into emergencies.