Principal Secretary Dr. Josephine Mburu of the Ministry of Health's State Department for Public Health and Professional Standards has emphasized the importance of coordination and collaboration between the National and County Governments, as well as Development partners for Health in Kenya (DPHK), to ensure the delivery of quality health services to Kenyans.
Speaking at the Health Sector Advisory and Oversight Committee meeting, which was attended by representatives from the National Government, Counties, and Development partners for Health, the PS called on all stakeholders to align their focus to the greater national health agenda.
During the meeting, a 13-point agenda was agreed upon to accelerate Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This includes aligning the Partnership and Coordination Framework to the Kenya Vision 2030 and the Kenya Kwanza agenda, mapping and aligning development partners towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), prioritizing local manufacturing to reduce the costs of Health Products and Technologies (HPTs), mapping the work done under Primary Health Care (PHC), and committing to the standardization of Human Resources for Health for quality of care. Other areas of focus include value chain and value agenda in operationalizing UHC, re-orienting the cost of health care in the implementation of PHC for the economy of scale, and digitization and innovation in health services.
The PS stressed that value in the health sector can only be achieved when there is a clear and common objective among all stakeholders, and called for coordination and collaboration to ensure quality and affordable health services for all Kenyans.
The Health Sector Advisory and Oversight Committee also committed to supporting the unbundling of health functions through the Inter Governmental Relations Technical Committee and ensuring the equitable distribution of health resources to achieve UHC by leaving no one behind.