The government has made a clarion call to all Kenyans especially the vulnerable groups to register with the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to get the envisaged Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Government Spokesperson Col. (RTD) Cyrus Oguna urged the residents to enlist with the insurer to get quality health coverage as part of the government’s Big 4 Agenda that will lead the country to greater heights of development.
He told a media briefing at his Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs media centre in Telposta Towers, where he held both physical and online panel discussions, christened SemaNaSpox webinar platform that the government was rolling out deliberate interventions initiatives to enable Kenyans access health care easily and conveniently.
“Proximity to health care has been enhanced and people travelling long distances to seek treatment has been greatly reduced,” Oguna stated.
He added that the government is planning on rolling out interventions such as telemedicine that will revolutionize health care services adding that the journey to achieving UHC is on course as NHIF strives to register at least 80 percent of the population by the end of the year.
Oguna challenged Kenyans to think more about their future health status by registering with NHIF and benefit from the advantage that the government has enabled access to treatment irrespective of class through the mantra ‘No One is Left Behind’.
“Kenyans should, in context, look at this initiative by the NHIF to register everyone in a health insurance fund and appreciate what the government is doing,” he reiterated.
Wambugu Kariuki, Head of Beneficiary Management at NHIF, said that the government’s commitment to affordable health care was preceded by a pilot which started in 2018 in four Counties namely Nyeri, Isiolo, Kisumu, and Machakos.
Wambugu revealed that the pilot which lasted for a year was successful.
“The government employed the input financing model method in the pilot where it provided all the supplies needed including the pharmaceuticals and the health care technology so that Kenyans in the four counties could be able to access the health care they needed,” he disclosed.
Wambugu insisted that through registration, the government is able to identify Kenyans who are poor and vulnerable and cannot cater for their health insurance and as a result pay their premiums.
By Michael Omondi
