A total of 191 of the targeted 315 Primary Care Networks (PCNs) have been established across Kenya, injecting fresh energy into the government’s efforts to implement Universal Health Coverage, a new report reveals.
Universal Health Coverage aims to ensure that all Kenyans access and receive essential quality health services without suffering financial hardship.
As of September 2023, Garissa had seven functional PCNs, achieving a 100 per cent success rate, followed by Kisumu and Nakuru with four units, at 57 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively.
Of the seven pilot counties in this assessment report – with the government seeking to revitalise primary healthcare, on which UHC is anchored – Mombasa and Makueni share fourth position with two PCNs each, at 33 per cent.
“Nyeri and Vihiga counties had not yet begun PCN implementation,” says the report, which was launched in Nairobi.
This signals the country’s readiness to scale up the programme to the other 40 counties, stakeholders said. However, this comes against a backdrop of low funding for primary health care, with only one to eight per cent of county health expenditure allocated to preventive and promotive health services, the report noted.
“Of the seven counties, only three allocated more than seven per cent, with Garissa allocating the highest at eight per cent; 7.5 per cent in Kisumu; and seven percent in Nakuru county,” said the report, compiled by the Ministry of Health, PATH, Unicef, the Gates Foundation and other partners.
Health Director General Dr Patrick Amoth envisages that the robust information collected from this programme will highlight the need to revisit the PCN model and draw lessons that will inform the scaling-up.
He said the models are promising and provide information for developing materials for use in advocacy on primary health care with policymakers at the national level and in counties.
“The Ministry of Health is deliberate at revitalising primary health care services, through reimagining, and reorienting the healthcare systems to shift from the dominant curative approach to a whole systems approach embracing broad-based interventions, prioritising preventive and promotive interventions and establishment of PCNs,” Amoth said in remarks read on his behalf by Dr Rebecca Kiptui, the acting head of Curative and Health Services at the ministry.
