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"id": 1130094,
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"content": "In terms of access to healthcare, when my administration took over in 2013, the number of health facilities across the country stood at 4,430. My administration, in conjunction with county governments, has increased our medical facilities by 43 percent by building 1,912 new hospitals in the last 8 years. This is an average of 239 new facilities per year. In context, in the previous 118 years only, 4,430 hospitals had been built in Kenya, an average of 37 hospitals per year. However, under my administration we have built 6 times more hospitals per year than all four previous administrations combined. To increase access to specialized medical services and decongest Kenyatta National Hospital, my administration has upgraded two hospitals to referral status during my term. The upgraded hospitals are the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital and its Integrated Molecular Imaging Centre (IMIC) in Nairobi County and the Othaya Annex Hospital in Nyeri County. The Othaya Annex is currently serving 8 counties in the Central Kenya region. To ensure that access to healthcare is cascaded to the lowest administrative unit, Level 5 hospitals have increased by 44 per cent; Level 4 hospitals increased by 9 per cent; Level 3 hospitals increased by 34 per cent and Level 2 hospitals increased by 49 per cent. Regarding affordability of healthcare, my administration has consistently increased the annual allocations to the Ministry of Health. Kenya has the highest budgetary allocation for health in East Africa, which currently stands at Kshs121.1 billion for the year 2021. Our sizable health budget will be used to expand access to primary healthcare services, ensure free maternity care, eliminate user fees for public primary care facilities, and subsidise health insurance for the elderly and people with severe disabilities. My administration also allocated Kshs900 Million as conditional grants to support the implementation of free primary healthcare in all our 47 counties. The highest allocation of the conditional grants was to the Rift Valley region at Kshs247.19 million. The NHIF SUPA Cover launched in July 2015 is another initiative of my administration to guarantee affordability of healthcare. Through this cover, dialysis patients and cancer patients are able to pay for their treatments locally or abroad, where the specific treatment is not available in the country’s public hospitals. In the Financial Year 2019/2021, NHIF managed to pay for 4.44 million hospital visits; covering 1.43 million cases of inpatient services and 3.01 million cases of outpatient services; this in turn saved Kenyan households, approximately Kshs54.9 billion in financial losses brought about by health-related issues. With a monthly subscription of Kshs500, the NHIF SUPA Cover has become Kenya’s largest, most reliable, accessible, and affordable medical insurance cover. Over the last 8 years of my administration, NHIF's membership has steadily grown. So far, the total NHIF membership stands at 10.5 million members, up from just 4 million members in 2013, an increase of 163%. Hon. Speakers, I acknowledge with appreciation that the National Assembly recently passed the National Hospital Insurance Fund (Amendments) Bill, 2021, and the same is now presently before the Senate. I, today, urge through you, Hon. Speaker, that the Senate expedites the consideration of the Bill so that in the life of this House, we can all join in ushering UHC for all. Hon. Speakers, Hon. Members, let us tear down the barriers that inhibit our quest to deliver quality healthcare for all Kenyans. To improve the standard of our healthcare facilities, my administration has boosted bed capacity, improved access to medical equipment, and increased the number of medical training schools. In 2013, the total bed capacity in public health facilities was 56,069 hospital beds. This increased by 47 percent to 82,291 hospital beds in 2020. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}