NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 24 — More than a decade after Kenya transferred most frontline healthcare functions to county governments, patients are experiencing a health system that has expanded facilities, staffing and specialised services, but still faces challenges in access, medicines, equipment and the availability of health workers.

📻 Breaking It Down

The 47 county governments manage the delivery of county health services, making them central to the question of whether devolution has translated into better, more accessible and affordable care for citizens.

For Violet Odongo, a health client at Railways Health Centre in Kisumu County, the change in staffing has been noticeable.

“Compared to the time when I was young, the nurses were few. But now, at least, the numbers have improved,” she recently told the World Health Organization.

📌 What You Need to Know

Her experience provides one example of what changes in county-level healthcare can mean for patients.

At the same facility, nurse Esther Omagwa said the increase in staffing had changed how she handled patients.

“These days I can respond to patients efficiently. Even when one of us goes on leave, we still have capacity,” Omagwa said.

But the experience of devolution is not uniform across the country.

The question is whether patients can consistently find a health worker when they need one, obtain prescribed medicines, access functioning equipment and receive specialised treatment without travelling long distances.

Kenya’s 2010 Constitution assigned county governments responsibility for county health services, including county health facilities, pharmacies, ambulance services and preventive and promotive healthcare.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya