CS Duale directs fresh health facility inspections

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has called for a renewed crackdown on compliance within Kenya’s healthcare sector by instructing the Council of Clinical Officers (COC) to carry out a fresh inspection of all health facilities already licensed.

The directive, which comes amid ongoing reforms in the country’s health system, seeks to enhance regulatory oversight and enforce higher standards across the board.

CS Duale issued the order during a meeting with the leadership of the Council, including Chairperson Prof. Samuel Kang’ethe.

He emphasized that the council’s mandate extends beyond licensing to ensuring that clinical officers are properly trained and certified by recognized institutions.

The Health Ministry boss remarked that institutions that have not been vetted and approved by the council should not produce practicing clinicians.

"Do not license any clinical officer trained in an institution that has not been duly merited, inspected, and audited by the Council," Duale said.

As part of the Ministry of Health’s renewed push for better service delivery, Duale instructed the COC to conduct a detailed audit of all currently licensed facilities.

He also called for improved coordination among regulatory bodies, pointing to gaps in communication that have led to conflicting assessments of health facilities.

"You must reinspect all these facilities and do a constant check. The CEO must go and sit with the CEO of the other council. You must find a way of working," the CS said.

Duale noted that the lack of harmony between regulatory agencies is a major concern.

He cited an example where one agency’s special team might reject a facility, while another grants it a license.

"There is no way his special team can deny a facility, and you give them a licence. We will not accept it because he will also bring his special report to us, so if we see that the two regulatory bodies’ reports contradict, that is a problem," he added.

To support transparency and improve accountability, the CS also urged the council to embrace full digitisation in line with the Ministry’s Digital Health Strategy.

This move, he said, would make it easier to monitor operations, curb malpractice, and streamline communication across agencies.

Duale also reiterated the Ministry’s backing for the COC as it takes part in broader health sector reforms, especially the rollout of the Taifa Care Model, a major policy aimed at transforming healthcare access and quality in Kenya.

This directive arrives amid heightened tensions in the health sector following recent opposition to the proposed Quality of Care Bill 2025.

The Bill seeks to merge several regulatory bodies, a plan that has met resistance from the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) and other members of the Health Sector Caucus.

The unions argue that such a move would weaken proper regulation of healthcare standards.

"We, the officials and representatives of the health sector unions and associations under the Health Sector Caucus, reaffirm our position against the proposal to merge regulatory bodies and inform that peer regulations are currently the best standard since the regulator has a deeper understanding of the practitioners and institutions they regulate," their statement read.