BY WAINAINA NDUNG’U
President Kibaki has demanded a speedy probe into the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) scam and promised tough action on the culprits.
The president warned the scam was likely to frustrate the Government’s drive to provide affordable and universal health care to all Kenyans.
“We must never compromise the health of our citizens because of greed and schemes meant to put money in the pockets of people who have no capacity to deliver health services to the people,” said Kibaki when he opened a donor-funded hospital in Isiolo town Saturday.
The NHIF saga has seen some clinics paid millions of shillings in advance despite their glaring lack of capacity to provide services. President Kibaki said unscrupulous persons are trying to take advantage of initiatives to provide affordable healthcare to Kenyans who have entrusted the Government with financial resources to achieve the task.
“I will therefore be expecting an expeditious completion in the ongoing investigations on the civil service medical scheme. Civil servants like other taxpaying Kenyans deserve a functional, efficient and cost effective health scheme,” he said.
He said punitive action should be taken on those found to have participated in any acts that may have compromised the health of Kenyans. The President said the Government’s efforts towards providing healthcare to all Kenyans involved establishing new health facilities, rehabilitation and expansion of existing ones and improved supply of medical products to Government hospitals.
He also said the Government was collaborating with mission hospitals by giving them doctors and nurses, providing medicines and using them as training grounds for medical personnel.
The President spoke at the opening of the Sh100 million Isiolo Matercare Referral Hospital built by the Isiolo Catholic Diocese and the Matercare International.
Medical Services Minister Anyang’ Nyong’o, who has been accused of presiding over the rot at NHIF was not present at the function and Internal Security Minister George Saitoti delivered his apology.
Prof Nyong’o said in a speech read by Prof Saitoti that only 28 per cent of Isiolo County’s mothers deliver babies at hospitals or with a medical doctors’ assistance.
