Invest in human health resources to attain universal healthcare

[Photo: Courtesy]

Attaining universal healthcare for Kenyans will largely depend on whether the coverage is wide enough and affordable to the majority of Kenyans and whether there is adequate healthcare personnel to provide the needed care.The health sector workforce determines the scope of service coverage, which in turn influences healthcare outcomes. With the devolved management of health workers, the number of health workers has expanded because of direct employment and deployment.

This has improved the ratio of health professionals to that of the population across the country, although the ratio still falls short of the World Health Organization (WHO) target of 30 medical officers per 100,000 people and 230 nurses per 100,000 people. In the devolved system, and through the county and national governments, the country has achieved 25 medical officers per 100,000 people and 77 nurses per 100,000 people.