By Violet Grade.
According to the National Council of Churches in Kenya, access to healthcare treatments is a life-or-death struggle for many poor Kenyans, causing them to suffer anguish and torture.
Addressing the press at County Green Hotel in Bungoma following a two-day workshop with elected NCCK leaders from Bungoma, Busia, Vihiga, and Kakamega counties NCCK chairperson Seth Agala urged the country’s health sector to pay and employ more healthcare personnel in order to at least make an end of these torture.
“We appeal to the county administrations in our region to hear the cry of the people and heal the health sector by obtaining medication and hiring enough health officers”,Agala stated.
He also bemoaned that health facilities across the board are understaffed and consistently lack medicines, especially immunizations for children.
He added that people are increasingly being driven to private and church-owned facilities, unfortunately these facilities are being hampered by the National Health Insurance Fund’s (NHIF) refusal to grant reimbursement.
“On this part we call upon the national government to streamline the transition from NHIF to SHIF (Social Health Insurance Fund) by ensuring that all the debts owned by the health sector is settled” ,he stated.
Furthermore, he stated that in terms of access to excellent and cheap healthcare, both the national and county governments have significant obstacles in guaranteeing equitable access to healthcare services for all Kenyans.
Healthcare is seen as a public benefit, aligning with the government’s aim in maintaining its citizens’ well-being; nonetheless, there is a high level of poverty and inequality among Kenyans, which has a significant impact on netizens’ access to healthcare facilities.
