National Health Accounts Used to Expand Access to Health Care in Kenya
May 5 2009
Speaking at the March 27th launch of the third round of National Health Accounts (NHA) in Kenya, the Honorable Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, Minister of Medical Services, noted that although household expenditure on health services in Kenya has declined, the current levels are too high and present a barrier to accessing health care services for poor households. “I will raise this issue with the government to ensure that more resources are allocated to the health sector and we are seen to be moving towards the Abuja target” stated the Minister.
The Ministry of Medical Services presented the results of both the third round of National Health Accounts and a household expenditure and utilization survey, marking the conclusion of an extensive study on health financing in Kenya by the Government of Kenya and USAID’s Health Systems 20/20 project.
An earlier second-round NHA, for 2002, revealed that households in Kenya financed 51% of total health expenditures. Galvanized by this evidence, the government instituted policy reforms to reduce the burden on households. NHA for 2006 shows remarkable progress, with household financing reduced to 36%, even as total health expenditures per capita increased slightly, from $23 to $27.
Current NHA findings also reveal that less than 10 percent of the Kenyan population is covered by any kind of medical insurance. The Minister announced that he will use the NHA findings to inform the development of a health care financing strategy to address the issue, stating that once the health care financing strategy is implemented, NHA will show a further reduction in out-of-pocket expenditures by households.
When a member from the Kenyan People Living with HIV/AIDS network asked how prepared the government is to continue provision of services in the event of donor withdrawal, the Minister replied that provision of an essential health package, which includes HIV/AIDS services, has received attention in the budgeting process and that more funds are set to be allocated to it. In addition, as the health sector moves towards full implementation of the community strategy aimed at empowering Kenyan households and communities to take charge of improving their own health, more emphasis will be given to prevention in an effort to reduce the current communicable disease burden.
The Minister challenged stakeholders to use findings from the two reports to inform policy development and program design to increase access to services, make health care affordable, and target resources to areas that will result in a reduced disease burden for Kenya.
