- Recently, in what is seen as a move that will further burden an already crumbling health ecosystem, Kenya’s National Treasury announced the slashing of the country’s healthcare budget for the financial year 2023-2024 by Sh14.2 billion from its previous allocation.
- It’s imperative that Kenyan citizens collectively rally for increased funding and remind their leaders that without prioritising resourcing this sector, we risk perpetuating cycles of inequality and suffering.
At one of our recent Leadership Training Programme for women change leaders in Kenya, we asked the 30 participating women - What are some of the issues that affect you the most?
What are some of the things that you would like to see changing for yourself and for your communities?
The overwhelming theme that emerged from their responses was - Accessible, Affordable, and Improved HEALTHCARE, not just for themselves or their communities but for the entire country.
They wanted to see systemic and far-reaching changes on a range of issues, among which Maternal Health, Menstrual health, Mental health, Adolescent Health, Sexual & Reproductive Health, Rights of Patients to Equitable Healthcare were among the most significant.
These women were from the most marginalised communities across Kenya and had strong personal experiences of how the country’s health care system had failed them.
They were Survivors of Gender-Based Violence and Female Genital Mutilation, Child brides and Teen Mothers, and Women with disabilities. And in most of their cases, access to universal healthcare had been elusive for them.
Their personal stories of pain and trauma were absolutely shocking.
- Deborah Monari - a nurse whose life-threatening condition was misdiagnosed by people of the fraternity she was an integral part of.
- Josephine Mwende - a woman with cerebral palsy who was denied medical care for delivering her baby because hospitals in Nairobi didn't feel equipped to handle her delivery.
- Harriet Afandi - who, along with Deborah and Josephine, has revealed the shocking yet unspoken reality of countless women facing Obstetric Violence in Kenyan hospitals.
- Frida Karani - who witnesses menstruating adolescent girls using torn pieces of cloth, sponge, cotton wool, toilet tissues, and even leaves, to prevent menstrual leaks.
- Selina, Josephine Kulea & Naomi - women from the Masai community who continue to witness Female Genital Mutilation, and girl children who bleed to death after being cut.
Today, each one of them is a change leader. They are bravely trying to channel their pain to find sustainable solutions to the country’s healthcare problems.
They are finding scrappy ways to address severe gaps in the country’s health ecosystem, with whatever funding and human resources they can muster.
Awareness campaigns on women’s health, Sanitary pad banks, Research on critical health topics, Fundraising for health benefits to reach people in the last mile, and to support healthcare facilities for those who can’t afford to pay out of their pockets - these are just a handful of measures these women have been spearheading.
But is improving the healthcare ecosystem of the country the responsibility of these citizen activists alone?
Will these women change leaders and others like them be successful in their advocacy efforts when the country’s priorities on universal health care are grossly misplaced?
Recently, in what is seen as a move that will further burden an already crumbling health ecosystem, Kenya’s National Treasury announced the slashing of the country’s healthcare budget for the financial year 2023-2024 by Sh14.2 billion from its previous allocation.
The Health Ministry reportedly requested Sh319.4 billion only to be allocated Sh141.2 billion.
At a time, when Kenya’s healthcare budget should be focussed on easing the economic burden on its citizens, building robust healthcare facilities, and recruiting more medical practitioners (rejigging public memory to the doctor’s strike not so long ago), such steep budget cuts raises serious questions on whether the country is deprioritising universal healthcare for its citizens. Is Kenya curtailing essential support for the health and well-being of every single citizen, especially the most marginalised?
It’s imperative that Kenyan citizens collectively rally for increased funding and remind their leaders that without prioritising resourcing this sector, we risk perpetuating cycles of inequality and suffering.
Durga Nandini is the Co-Founder, Nguvu Collective