State Short Of Cash For Community Health Promoters Says Kindiki
State Short Of Cash For Community Health Promoters Says Kindiki
Community health promoters (CHPs) are an integral component in the rollout of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), particularly in enlisting Kenyans under the new Social Health Authority (SHA).
Speaking Wednesday at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki said as things stand, what was allocated in the budget in the current financial year may not be sufficient to facilitate the CHPs.
“If you add the Sh2.5 billion budget for CHPs and the other budget for other primary healthcare services, the total budget is Sh6.2 billion according to the data that I have been given, and that amount of money therefore, may not be adequate,” Kindiki said.
The DP said the government was therefore looking for ways of raising funds to bridge the deficit, including “adjusting a little bit of resources” in the supplementary budget.
Kindiki attributed the cash shortfall to the collapse of the impugned Finance Bill, 2024, through which the government had sought to raise supplementary revenue of about Sh340 billion.
“As you know, early this year, the revenue-raising instruments that were proposed did not materialize; the Finance Bill, 2024, and that affected funding of sectors across government,” he said.
“Nevertheless, even with the shortfall, we will go out of our way to continually adjust our budget to make sure that primary healthcare is not left out,” he added.
Speaking on Monday during Taifa Care Express Mombasa County, Senior Adviser, Council of Economic Advisors at State House, Moses Kuria assured CHPs that all their stipend arrears would be paid in full in due course.
“Today during our closed-door meeting, I was handed the list of all those with arrears. I want to assure you that even the 40-something who missed out on December payments, it will be paid by the end of this week,” he said.
“And let me reiterate what I told your leaders; before my salary, that of the governor and the President is paid, the salary of CHPs will be paid first. We know if you leave a soldier hungry, he can even sell his gun and because you are our frontline soldiers, we must cater for your welfare,” Kuria added.
The CHPs are currently undertaking countrywide enlisting of Kenyans under the new Social Health Authority (SHA). KIndiki said 17 million Kenyans are now registered under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program – Taifa Care.
“While most of the teething problems have been resolved, the government is streamlining all outstanding issues to ensure that hospitals provide services in an efficient and timely manner,” he said.
The DP was on a tour of the Kenyatta National Hospital to assess implementation of Taifa Care where he took the opportunity to engage with patients and health workers to establish aspects that require improvement intervention.
State Short Of Cash For Community Health Promoters Says Kindiki
