12 May 2011
Nairobi — A new report by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission is unequivocal in its verdict that public hospitals are on the sickbed.
This should not come as a surprise. What should worry Kenyans is the apparent lack of resolve to address the crisis, once and for all.
For years, the media, Kenyans, and reams of reports commissioned by the government and various interest groups have exposed the rot in the health sector.
Indeed, as the study reveals, staff shortages, corruption, and inadequate facilities or lack thereof are synonymous with public hospitals.
Cartels and brokers that work in cahoots with hospital staff to take over the supply and service process for personal gain have added to the mess.
The study also unravels impropriety in procurement, poor financial management, demoralised and overworked staff, and haphazard waiver of bills that only piles the debt burden on the health facilities.
The tragedy is that most Kenyans cannot afford private healthcare. Therefore, they resort to buying over-the-counter drugs or take the “Loliondo route” — traditional cures whose efficacy is doubtful.
This is a sorry state of affairs, especially for a country whose taxpayers have the extra burden of financing two Health ministries — Medical Services and Public Health and Sanitation.
Sadly, the two ministries have been caught up in the mess of fighting over parastatals under them instead of addressing the root causes of poor provision of services.
To their credit, and despite claims of low budgetary allocations, the ministries have accepted the findings and promised to address the systemic flaws and human frailties that plague the sector.
We hope this is not a nominal addition to the lofty list of unfulfilled pledges. Kenyans deserve better health services.
AllAfrica – All the Time