Francis Openda
12 October 2005
Nairobi — The Government will employ 1,420 health workers to help alleviate a shortage of skilled staff, Health minister Charity Ngilu said yesterday.
She said the shortage of key staff was threatening the quantity and quality of services offered by public facilties.
The minister said additional staff would be employed through the support of Pepfar, the Global Fund and the Clinton Foundation.
She was speaking at the official opening of the Joint Consultative Workshop on Kenyan Sector Wide Approach at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, yesterday.
Ngilu said Kenya's impressive health performance since independence had deteriorated in the last decade, raising major concerns about the attainability of the Millennium Development Goals.
She said despite on-going innovations in the health sector, no clear results have been achieved thus denting the Ministry's image.
"The would-be beneficiaries are not receiving quality service because of duplication of efforts and lack of co-ordination," she said.
Ngilu said it was important to develop and support one plan and one monitoring framework to check standards.
She also called for a review and strengthening of procurement, financial and monitoring systems.
The minister said the joint inter-agency co-ordinating committee had approved the country's second National Health Sector Strategic Plan 2005-2015.
The ministry, she said, was in the final stage of discussions with the Ministry of Finance on how to disburse grants to public health facilities like had been done with the education sector
Ngilu said the ministry had delegated its procurement function to the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa), adding that rural health facilities would be funded and equipped throughout the year.
She said services would improve with the 30 per cent increased funding to her Ministry.
Health Permanent Secretary Zachary Ogongo, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef ) country representative Heimo Laakkonen, World health Organisation Kenya representative Peter Eriki and representatives of various donor and health agencies attended the workshop.
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