Governors back CS Duale’s push for TaifaCare

The Council of Governors (CoG) Vice-Chairman, Mutahi Kahiga, has lauded Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale for his swift efforts and commitment toward transforming Kenya’s health sector.

Speaking at the signing of the Intergovernmental Participatory Agreement (IPA), Governor Kahiga noted that CS Duale has made significant strides in fostering collaboration between the Ministry of Health and county governments since taking office three weeks ago.

He asked President William Ruto to retain the health CS at Afya House for continuity and smooth implementation of the government’s Universal Health Coverage transformation agenda.

“We have observed CS Duale’s dedication to realising the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) dream during our engagements over this short period. It is clear he is fully committed to ensuring this country achieves the long-overdue goal of quality healthcare for all,” Governor Kahiga said.

He called on Kenyans to support the strengthened partnership between the national government and the CoG by registering with the newly established Social Health Authority (SHA) under the Taifa Care program.

“My rallying call to all Kenyans is to register as required so that we can collectively achieve this Kenyan dream,” Kahiga added.

He further pledged CoG’s full support, led by Chairman Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, for the implementation of the IPA signed between the Ministry of Health and the 47 devolved units.

The IPA paves the way for a coordinated rollout of health sector reforms under Taifa Care.

Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, who is also the COG Vice-Chairman, called upon Kenyans to support the roll out of Taifa care and register themselves with SHA in big numbers, saying the ongoing reforms in the health sector were long overdue.

In his remarks, Health CS Aden Duale reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to strengthening partnerships with county governments, the public, and all stakeholders in the health sector.

Highlighting the importance of devolution in implementing key government policies such as Taifa Care, the Digital Health System (DHS) and the Social Health Authority (SHA), Duale emphasised the need for mutual cooperation between the two levels of government.

He underscored the critical role that counties will play in the health sector’s digitisation, noting that close collaboration is vital to delivering affordable, equitable, and efficient healthcare services to all Kenyans.

As part of the reforms, the national and county governments signed 10 agreements, including a plan to digitise all public health facilities across the country.

The initiative will see the distribution of 74,000 computers and tablets to healthcare workers in all 47 counties and national referral hospitals.

“I reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to deepening partnerships with public, private, and other stakeholders in delivering accessible and quality healthcare,” said Duale.

Emphasising the role of devolution in health service delivery, he called for continued collaboration between the Ministry and county governments to actualise the government’s health transformation agenda.

As part of the IPA, health workers in all public facilities will be trained on digitisation to ensure the smooth rollout of Taifa Care.

The plan also includes the development of 315 Smart Primary Care Networks and the establishment of a dynamic, highly available, and fault-tolerant, standards-based Health Information Exchange (HIE).

The Health Information Exchange is expected to provide centralised services and registries to facilitate the implementation of national health information systems.

Additionally, the Ministry and the CoG agreed to build and maintain an Electronic Health Insurance Claims Platform for all public facilities and to implement a Pharmaceutical Information System and a Logistics Management Information System (Track and Trace System).

This is expected to increase accountability and availability of medical supplies and medicines in all health facilities.

Health CS Aden Duale underscored the role Council of Governors play in ensuring that successful implementation of Taifa Care and attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC)

They also agreed to implement a drug order management system to enable public health facilities to order drugs and consumables online from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).

In addition, they agreed to implement a national Emergency Response Service Platform, which will allow emergency data to be securely shared and enable Kenyans to request ambulances from the comfort of their phones.

The Ministry and the CoG further agreed to roll out a national telemedicine platform that will allow citizens to book appointments, access their personal health records and receive virtual consultations, placing them at the centre of the healthcare ecosystem.

“We have unanimously agreed that the Ministry of Health and the counties shall strengthen their engagement in preparation for the rollout at the sub-national level,” said Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, who also serves as the Vice-Chairman of the CoG

Kahiga explained that the initiative aims to enhance the country’s capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies at the county level.

He added that counties would expedite the release of nominated personnel for training on health digitisation.

“The assistive devices should be dispatched from the warehouses within two weeks,” Governor Kahiga said.

Technical teams from both the Council of Governors and the Ministry of Health have been tasked with finalising the inspection report to facilitate the approval and operationalisation of the national distribution plan.