On 13 January, WACI Health and GFAN Africa joined civil society organizations in Kenya and participated in public hearings for the year 2020/2021 budget. Thereafter, the civil society organizations presented a memorandum to the Permanent Secretary, National Treasury, and Planning, outlining budgetary concerns for the health sector. 

Noting that health is a fundamental human right, the CSOs acknowledged the Government’s commitment to health and its focus on achieving Universal healthcare coverage.  They urged the Government of Kenya to increase its allocation of domestic resources for health to ensure effective and efficient quality healthcare for all Kenyans. 

Additional funds are urgently required for hiring additional health professionals, renovation of public health facilities, improving the supply chain management and for the expansion of the national referral system. Additionally, there should be emphasis and scaling up of promotional and preventive healthcare services. Investments in health should be considered in partnership with other sectors such as the environment, in the wake of climate change which has resulted in emerging and increasing vector-borne diseases. 

Additional domestic resources for health are especially critical at this time that donor funding is dwindling as Kenya is a lower-middle-income country. Investment in health is key to achieving the 2030 development agenda and for sustainable economic growth leading to a prosperous Kenya.