Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has urged closer collaboration between the national and county governments to accelerate solutions to challenges facing the Social Health Authority (SHA) and other joint initiatives.
He said Taifa Care, operated by the SHA, is among the most consequential healthcare programs ever rolled out in Kenya, calling for open engagement to ensure its success.
“We are implementing one of the most consequential healthcare programs. What we are doing with Taifa Care is extremely consequential. Many countries have tried and abandoned publicly funded universal health systems. Kenya has taken a bold step,” Kindiki said.
The Deputy President spoke on Monday during the opening of the 28th Ordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) at the Official Residence in Karen, Nairobi.
Kindiki described IBEC as the best platform for dialogue between the two levels of government, urging members to use it to resolve pending and emerging issues.
“IBEC is the cornerstone of dialogue between the two levels of government. It is where we address emerging issues around devolved functions, those reserved for the national government, and those that are shared,” he said.
He noted that so far, progress has been recorded in SHA registration, approvals, and bill settlements, and as of Monday, more than 26.5 million Kenyans had registered.
From this, Sh70 billion has been raised from 4.4 million active contributors.
“Patients can now access services at over 10,000 approved facilities nationwide,” said the DP.
Counties leading in registration include Mombasa, Bomet, Kirinyaga, Elgeyo Marakwet, and Nyeri, while Garissa, Turkana, Isiolo, Marsabit, and West Pokot trail with the lowest numbers.
To date, Sh59.3 billion has been paid out under the Social Health Insurance Fund.
Of this, Sh29.8 billion went to private providers, Sh13.7 billion to county facilities, Sh9.9 billion to faith-based institutions, and Sh5.9 billion to national referral hospitals.
The session also discussed improving agricultural productivity, expediting the rollout of County Agricultural and Industrial Parks, settling pending bills, and ensuring faster disbursement of county allocations.
The Deputy President emphasized the need to safeguard devolution, terming it the most promising feature of the 2010 Constitution.
“We must preserve and implement devolution as we preserve and implement the Constitution,” he noted.
He further called for full support of the government’s agenda to strengthen macro-economic stability, advance value-chain reforms, improve infrastructure, create jobs, and enhance healthcare and education.
“We must look at the economy as an integrated whole. The priority issues we are implementing should not differ between the national and county governments,” he added.