Health Cabinet Secretary Dr Cleopa Mailu. [Photo/Courtesy]The government has prioritised attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and anchored it in key legal and policy instruments to accelerate progress.Health Cabinet Secretary Dr Cleopa Mailu said the government has integrated UHC as a goal in the national health strategies and entrenched it in the Constitution, the Health Policy goal and Kenya Health Sector Strategic Plan theme."The approach to UHC is centred on three key focus areas which are backed with a well elaborated service delivery model and Health Investment priorities," said Dr. Mailu during the plenary session 4 on Accelerating UHC Progress-Learning from Country Experiences at the UHC forum in Tokyo, Japan.“Our aim is to expand the number and scope of services available to the population, expand coverage of existing services, focusing on hard to reach populations and the vulnerable populations and reducing financial risk associated with use of essential services,” he said on Thursday.To improve the availability of services, Dr Mailu said the Ministry of Health has defined a comprehensive essential package for health for all Kenyans. He said a range of new services have also been introduced under the National Hospital Insurance Fund Scheme.The Ministry is also working with the private sector, to implement a multi-billion dollar leasing programme for medical equipment which has enabled the government to enhance provision of specialized health services in 98 hospitals across the country namely dialysis, theatre, Intensive Care Units, MRI, advanced CT scans, ultrasound and mammography. The government also intends to gradually increase budgetary allocation from 7 per cent in 2017 to 10 per cent in 2022 as well as create a conducive environment of investments in the health sector. Currently, the public health sector accounts for 55 percent of all health services.

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