A joint audit of all Community Health Promoters under the Universal Health Coverage programme is set to begin after the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors agreed to clean up health workforce records and address rising concerns over employment terms.

The move, announced after a consultative meeting led by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, CoG Chair Ahmed Abdullahi, and Health Committee Chair Muthomi Njuki, is part of a broader plan to reform the health sector.

The discussions covered staff contracts, procurement bottlenecks, stalled equipment programmes, and the administration of conditional grants.

The Health Ministry will continue managing the UHC payroll until all current contracts expire and gratuities are fully paid. The ministry also pledged to allocate funds in the next financial year to transition UHC workers into permanent and pensionable employment.

“Both parties resolved to conduct a joint audit of the Community Health Promoters’ workforce under the Universal Health Coverage programme,” the leaders said.

On the National Equipment Support Programme, the county and national governments agreed to cut through red tape that has slowed down disbursement of funds.

The Health Committee under the Council of Governors will now push for amendments to the Intergovernmental Participation Agreement to make programme implementation more efficient.

The Project Implementation Unit will also be restructured to increase oversight and quicken project delivery timelines.

Procurement issues involving the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority were also tackled, with the agency directed to revise its product supply proposal.

The new plan must address complaints over unclear medicine origins, inefficiencies in centralised procurement, and growing stockpiles of slow-moving medicines.

The government had earlier said it would absorb UHC workers permanently, but this will only happen after verification of employment records and the natural expiry of current contracts over the next year.