NAIROBI, Kenya, April 8 – A majority of Kenyans are open to an increase in taxes to enable adequate healthcare access for all.
A new report by AfroBarometer, a Pan-African survey firm, shows that nearly six in ten locals (57 percent) are in support of high taxes to fund medical programs.
Kenya is one of the African countries with costly medical care services, which means that many families without government or private medical coverage struggle financially when an illness befalls them, forcing many to resort to harambees to foot bills.
For example, last year, data from KNBS showed that healthcare costs went up by 3.3 percent, exacerbated by rising fees, drug prices, insurance premiums, and hospital premiums.
A 2021 FinAccess national survey and the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS 2022) showed that only one out of every four Kenyans has access to health insurance, a 16 percent drop compared to 2019.
“This means that about one in every five Kenyans who previously had health coverage opted out of insurance due to reduced household incomes at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic,” FSD said in a report.
To improve uptake, the government rolled out the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) countrywide to enable all Kenyans to have access to health care services affordably.
Gabon, Cabo Verde, Guinea, Madagascar, Liberia, and Mali are among African countries whose citizens prefer high taxes to fund medical care services at 89 percent, 88 percent, 86 percent, 85 percent, 84 percent, and 83 percent, respectively.
However, Mauritians and Moroccans are not so much open to more taxes at 45 percent and 48 percent.
