NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 21 – The Ministry of Health has taken a major step toward improving coordination and accountability in the health sector after convening a high-level consultative forum in Nairobi to deliberate on the establishment of the Kenya Health Policy Platform (HPP) and a Reform Acceleration Platform.
Speaking during the meeting held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Nairobi, Medical Services Principal Secretary Ouma Oluga said Universal Health Care (UHC) remains a constitutional right and a central pillar of the government’s Taifa Care programme and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
He said the proposed platform would not create new bureaucratic structures but would instead align existing reform initiatives, financing decisions and multi-stakeholder actions to improve efficiency and equity in health service delivery.
“The intention is not to introduce parallel systems but to bring together what already exists so that reforms, financing and implementation are better coordinated and more accountable to the people,” Oluga said.
According to the ministry, the Health Policy Platform will focus on strengthening health financing by aligning domestic and external resources, accelerating the adoption of high-impact innovations and improving performance management through data-driven tools and joint sector reviews.
The platform will also prioritise maternal and newborn health, particularly in underserved and high-burden regions, in line with national UHC commitments and efforts to reduce preventable deaths.
Officials said the consultative process will continue over the coming weeks, with stakeholders expected to submit their inputs within nine days.
The proposals will then be consolidated by the end of January and validated in early February, ahead of the anticipated launch of the platform in March.
Once operational, the Health Policy Platform is expected to play a central role in fast-tracking health sector reforms and strengthening collaboration between national and county governments, development partners and implementing agencies, as government seeks to improve health outcomes and achieve universal access to essential services.
