I have always been passionate about working towards a health system where any Kenyan can receive health services when needed irrespective of their financial income levels. This is one of the reasons I became a medical doctor and later pursued public health partnering with the Ministry of Health and the National Hospital Insurance Fund to expand coverage of vulnerable groups first through an entitlement program for the poor then women and children. Since the incredible fellowship opportunity at the University of Washington I have taken on new responsibilities as the Country Lead of a program focusing on strategic purchasing of primary healthcare services particularly maternal neonatal child health and family planning services. Strategic purchasing is of interest to me because most services in our country are purchased by means of passive purchasing mechanisms. This means that providers receive financing that isn’t driven by explicit obligations to ensure equity, access and quality of the services they offer. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health, National Hospital Insurance Fund and County Departments of Health we intend to change this as we learn and build evidence and action towards strategic purchasing.
Likewise, although developing my policy memo was demanding, as part of the secretariat to the HF-Sub-committee on Universal Health Coverage which is part of the President’s big four agenda for the country, I have been able to unpack many of the elements in my policy memo which focused on increasing equitable access to quality healthcare services for Kenyans. The leadership training/coaching remains one of my highlights of the course because I realised leadership isn’t innate; you can be taught to become a good leader. I have drawn on lessons on managing vision and purpose since my new role requires me to engage partners and make compelling arguments for collaborative work to reach strategic country led goals for health.
Finally, last month the Kenyan Fellows were delighted to have dinner with Chris Elias, Liz, Joyce and I got to meet Lucy, Wesley and Maureen (Cohort 2) and had great time discussing healthy lifestyle decisions such as the latest diets. This topic was a result of engaging on a major health concern in the country; Cancer.