Of the 19 Cabinet secretaries sworn in this week, Dr Deborah Mulongo Barasa, Kenya's new CS for Health, faces probably the most urgent task.
She has one month to roll out the new Social Health Authority, which will replace the National Health Insurance Fund.
Originally slated for July 1, the launch of SHA was postponed to October 1 due to delays in the readiness of the IT system that underpins it.
The system manages the registration of members, contributions to the Fund, empanelment of healthcare facilities, contract execution, pre-authorisation, and claims management.
These processes must be completed by the end of September, making it a race against time.
Dr Barasa must also operationalise Collective Bargaining Agreements with doctors, nurses, and clinical officers. These agreements are essential to maintaining harmony within the health sector workforce, which has been plagued by unrest and strikes in the past.
The CS must also produce a roadmap to hire 20,000 new health workers, as promised by the President, to bridge the current patient-to-health worker ratio.
Her success will be measured by her ability to navigate these and other complex issues with urgency, transparency and a commitment to improving the health of the nation.
Quote of the Day: “Wisdom consists not so much in knowing what to do in the ultimate as knowing what to do next.”
Herbert Hoover
The American politician and 31st President of the United States was born on August 10, 1874
