Nairobi — Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on Wednesday held a high-level strategic meeting with World Health Organization (WHO) officials to strengthen collaboration aimed at accelerating Kenya's Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda.
The engagement, led by Acting WHO Representative to Kenya Neema Kimambo, focused on aligning Kenya's ongoing health sector reforms with global best practices to expand equitable access to quality healthcare services.
During the meeting, CS Duale outlined the government's transformative reforms anchored on the Taifa Care Model and sustainable health financing through the Social Health Authority (SHA).
He noted that more than 29 million Kenyans are already enrolled under the new framework, describing the reforms as critical to ensuring affordable and accessible healthcare for all.
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"CS Duale highlighted the deployment of 107,000 Community Health Promoters (CHPs) to bring health services closer to households, enhance transparency and accountability, and curb fraud through the Digital Health Superhighway," the Health Ministry said.
He also pointed to ongoing reforms at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), noting that improvements in governance and logistics are strengthening last-mile delivery of essential health products and technologies--key pillars in advancing UHC.
The WHO team was briefed on the rollout of the Maternal and Newborn Health Rapid Results Initiative (RRI) and the Every Woman, Every Newborn Everywhere (EWENE) agenda, which target high-burden counties to reduce maternal and newborn mortality.
Policy measures such as the bed access rule and the proposed Quality Healthcare and Patient Safety Bill 2025 were highlighted as crucial steps toward standardizing care, safeguarding patient rights, and establishing a regulatory authority to enhance patient safety.
To deepen collaboration, CS Duale sought WHO's technical support in health financing reforms, strengthening regulatory systems--including Kenya's pursuit of WHO Global Benchmarking Tool Maturity Level 3 (ML3)--and promoting local pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Discussions also emphasized WHO's role in health security, particularly coordinating large-scale epidemic responses and supporting the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) process.
Other cooperation areas included evidence generation through the Reproductive Age Mortality Survey (RAMOS), deploying data science expertise to improve maternal and newborn health analytics, and aligning Kenya's health laws with international best practices.
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The engagement concluded with updates on Kenya's preparations to host two major global events--the International Maternal Newborn Health Conference in March and the World Health Summit Regional Meeting in April--platforms expected to showcase the country's progress toward achieving Universal Health Coverage.
CS Duale was joined by Director-General for Health Dr. Patrick Amoth, alongside senior Ministry of Health directors and technical leads.
