7. Management and Provision of Health Services

Access to prompt and quality medical care for the citizenry continues to be a challenge in Kenya’s public health facilities as they lack the capacity to deal with the demands placed upon them. . This situation has been further exacerbated by the inadequate and inequitable distribution of resources. That in turn has led to lack of proper health care and the loss of qualified personnel to the private sector and also to developed countries that offer them better terms of service. These factors have contributed to low life expectancy of an average Kenyan at (42/45years), well below the world average of 75years. FORD People would like to see a healthy and vibrant nation where everyone has the right to high quality healthcare, free at the point of use, delivered when and where it is needed. To achieve these and other positive outcomes for the people of Kenya a FORD-People government will undertake the following:

▪ Aim at improving the quality of life of Kenyans by tackling causes of ill health such as poverty, pollution, poor diets and illiteracy by putting in place relevant infrastructure.

▪ Increase budgetary allocation to public health institutions, reduce bureaucracy and enact a national policy framework that guarantees easy access to affordable public health care.

▪ Ensure equitable distribution within the country of public health institutions that are modern, well-equipped, staffed and professionally managed.

▪ Establish additional referral hospitals, at least one in each province, and develop more specialist units for the treatment of illnesses such as cancer, heart and kidney diseases.

▪ Maintain and improve local health programs /services such as antenatal care, family planning services, HIV and Aids, speech and language therapy, community health and ambulance services.

▪ Implement and expand the national health insurance scheme so as to cover as many Kenyans as possible.

▪ Reduce child mortality and maternal death rates by improving primary and maternal health care services.

▪ In acknowledgement of the fact that public health is important and affects every family in our country, we shall educate and sensitize the public on issues of reproductive health, curative and preventive disease and care; and in particular, seek to combat the spread of communicable diseases such as malaria, HIV/Aids and TB.

▪ Create a national policy that regulates the use of tobacco, alcohol and other harmful drugs.

▪ Establish a national policy framework on the use and provision of traditional/alternative medicine.

▪ Improve the terms and conditions of service of public health personnel to arrest the brain drain from public health institutions.

▪ Recognize and promote the right of women and adolescents to attain the highest standards of reproductive, mental and general health.

▪ Establish a legal framework for the punishment of persons who deliberately infect others with HIV/Aids and other life-threatening diseases.

▪ Endeavour to educate the public with the aim of changing attitudes on cultural practices that endanger the health and life of women and girls.

▪ Review and change mental health care to protect both the patient and the public so that only well proven low risk patients are left in the community.

▪ Improve links between hospitals, social and local police services to deal with security problems, mental health and protection of children.