Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong signed three bills into law. The Busia County Community Health Services Bill 2021, Busia County Health Services Fund (Amendment), Bill, 2021 and The Busia County Crop Agriculture Bill, 2021 were penned into law.
Addressing the press after assenting to the Bills in his office, the Governor said the Acts will revamp the health and agriculture sector, more so crop production in the county.
Ojaamong said the Agriculture Bill will enable farmers to benefit from devolution of Agriculture to counties, adding that it will also improve productivity, marketing of agricultural produce and mechanization and value addition.
“The Act will also open many doors for partnership engagement and help in job creation among the youths in the county,” he said.
On other hand the Busia County Health Services Fund (Amendment), Bill, 2021 passed by the County Assembly of Busia will go a long way in improving service delivery in the county and cushion health facilities against emergencies.
The Governor said the issue of scarcity of commodities in hospitals had been a major challenge, noting that all money collected in the health facilities were channelled to Nairobi and returned at the end of every financial year.
“With enactment of the bill into law, hospitals will be able to utilize funds they collect in procuring gloves and other drugs required urgently within the facility,” he said, adding that the challenges associated with stock in hospitals will now be a thing of the past.
He added: “With this latest development, the number of patients to use their National Hospital Insurance Fund will increase.”
The main objective of the amended bill is to plough back funds into the department to address emergency and urgent matters arising in the health facilities.
The Busia County Community Health Services Bill, 2021 is good news to over 2,000 Community Health Volunteers who can now be facilitated to provide basic healthcare services to county residents.
The CHVs Act will provide services such as health education, health promotion, disease prevention, mental-health services, home care, long-term care, rehabilitation services, palliative-care services and treatment for illnesses and injury in relation to primary care
The main objective of the amended bill is to plough back funds into the department to address emergency and urgent matters arising in the health facilities.
Other objectives are to establish the Busia County Health Facilities Improvement Fund and provide for a mechanism to oversee the management and administration of the Fund.
About 70 per cent of the money collected will be shared among the county higher level health facilities which collect in the ratio of facility improvement fees generated by it while 27% shall be shared among the lower-level health facilities which do not collect FIF, and 3% shall be utilized as administration costs.
By Absalom Namwalo
