Health CS Cleopas Mailu. [Photo: The Star]
The Ministry of Health has proposed a programme where poor Kenyans could soon receive incentives, including money and goods, whenever they seek health services.
The programme is proposed in places including Northern Kenya, where locals have largely shunned hospital services such as immunisation and delivery. This is despite the government improving health facilities and making them free.
Health workers will also be rewarded when they achieve performance targets, such as immunising a certain percentage of children in a given area.
Health CS Cleopas Mailu said the Results Based Financing is one of the proposals being considered to help Kenya achieve universal primary health care and expand services available to the population.
"These programmes range from maternal and child health, HIV, TB and malaria, noncommunicable diseases, improved health infrastructure and equipment, health commodities and supplies and robust disease surveillance and response," Mailu said on Friday as quoted by the Star.
The CS made the remarks in Nairobi during a preparatory meeting towards the UHC forum, which will be held in Tokyo and the launch of Japan’s policy and Human Resources Development Fund project in Kenya.
The Kenyan programme is likely to be supported by Japan. The CS observed the government had in 2013 made free maternity services free, introduced health subsidies for the poor and elderly and waived all health service costs for children under the age of five years.