April 2022
The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) launched the 2021-2026 strategic plan following the rolling out of the new academic Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
This new plan will address the implementation of the new academic policies enacted to implement the new curriculum. The strategic plan also envisages to address critical emerging issues in the education sector, some of which have been inevitably created by the implementation of the CBC such as ensuring comprehensive teacher training in alignment with the new curriculum.
KNEC Chairperson John Onsati highlighted that the 2021-2026 Strategic Plan is anchored in six strategic objectives; quality in assessment and certification; integrated applied research and innovative partnerships in educational assessment, implementation of digital infrastructure and innovative business solutions in line with ICT industry requirements and standards.
The Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha underscored that the 2021-2026 Strategic Plan will be reviewed at the end of each year to assess the success of its implementation, in order to make the necessary adjustments in the implementation strategy.
The Government of Kenya launched the Mental Health Action Plan 2021-2025, a strategy to strengthen and transform Kenya’s mental health sector over the next five years. The plan seeks to decentralize mental health care and provide primary care at community levels.
Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS), Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, emphasized: “This Action plan will provide a framework for both National and County Governments to implement the Mental Health Policy and Taskforce Recommendations through strategic actions with specified targets and indicators”.
She also highlighted that the new Action Plan would seek to attract more investment into mental health services and programs in the country, which currently remain vastly underfunded. One of the key ways that they plan to increase mental healthcare financing is through Universal Health Coverage (UHC). There are also plans to revolutionize both national and county level mental health infrastructure to make them more user-friendly. This upgrade is set to be achieved through the integration of innovation by installing ICT based services to increase the efficiency and quality of information, medication and technology in mental health care
One of the novel strategies being pushed by the Action Plan is the development of a mental health curriculum that will equip teachers and parents with the skill sets to recognize the mental health needs of children at their formative stages. Finally, the CAS asserted that the Action Plan’s success will be dependent on public-private partnerships, and called upon County Governments, Private sector, Faith Based Organizations, NGOs, and Community groups to support, invest in, and integrate the Action Plan into their various programs and plans.
Kenya’s Ministry of Health (MoH) and Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) are working on a much-needed Food Safety Bill that will fill the current gaps in Kenya’s food policies particularly regarding consumer protection. The Bill is meant to address food safety concerns by attempting to reduce the alarming rates of food poisoning cases in the country.
Once ratified, the new Bill will be effective in both national and county governments, authorizing the relevant authorities to carry out random tests on various food products in the markets and eateries. Relevant authorities will also be able to trace the source of farm produce in the markets.
Ministry of Health Director General Dr. Patrick Amoth expressed his concern about, “increasing cases of drug residues in livestock as well as high chemical content in farm products which posed a great health danger to consumers”.
This new policy is also part of the MoH’s strategy to mitigate the multiple and complex threats faced in the human – animal environment interface such as zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and food safety issues. Dr. Amoth also highlighted the negative economic implications of the food safety risks, “The heavy burden of foodborne diseases imposes substantial economic losses to individuals, households, health systems and entire nations. Economic losses as a result of rejected food exports due to shortcomings in food safety are also often very significant.”
There is therefore a great need for collaboration between national and county level stakeholders to combat these health risks and ensure the overall health and wellbeing of Kenyans.
March 2022
The Kenyan Ministry of Health (MoH) is undertaking various policy reforms in the health sector, in a bid to transform healthcare provision and disease management in Kenya.
The Ministry of Health has released revised key policy documents primarily aimed at guiding the management of Tuberculosis and Asthma in the country. The documents include: Public-Private Mix Action Plan, Interim COVID-19/TB Management Guide, Integrated TB Leprosy and Lung Disease Guideline, and the Revised Asthma Management Guidelines.
These documents have been formulated to provide the most up to date information to frontline workers and particularly, regarding TB and asthma. The latter has long been under-diagnosed and under-treated in the country. The reforms are also meant to improve the collaboration between the public and private health sector in order to improve diagnosis, and treatment of TB patients, especially following the 2016 discovery that 27% of TB symptomatic persons were reported to have sought medical assistance from individual private healthcare providers with very little engagement with the public system. The public-private health collaboration is therefore intended to be achieved through the Public-Private Mix Action Plan.
Acting Director General for health Dr Patrick Amoth emphasized that a collaborative effort is needed from all stakeholders to achieve a comprehensive, holistic healthcare model in Kenya. He highlighted that the private sector has much to offer in the advancement of public health gains due to its expansionary and competitive mode of operation. However, the question remains whether increased privatization of healthcare would primarily benefit or harm the most vulnerable populations’ access to healthcare.
Kenya’s new health policy reforms have the potential to spearhead similar action in the East Africa region, with an emphasis on strong primary health care and disease prevention methods. Within the year, Kenya also hopes to roll out new advancements in previously overlooked but urgent spheres of healthcare such as mental health.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic and its vast socio-economic effects, the World Bank has approved a $750 million Development Policy Operation (DPO) aimed at fortifying fiscal responsibility in Kenya through key policy and institutional reforms.
These policy reforms are aimed at promoting sustainability cross-sectoraly and will be tackled in the form of three main pillars: “(1) fiscal and debt reforms to make spending more transparent and efficient, and enhance domestic debt market performance; (2) electricity sector and public-private partnership (PPP) reforms to place Kenya on an efficient, green energy path, and boost private infrastructure investment; and (3) strengthening the governance framework of Kenya’s natural and human capital which includes the environment, land, water and healthcare”.
Fiscal responsibility is a much-needed reform in Kenya, a country which has long been plagued by corruption as a result of adequate transparency and accountability mechanisms. One way in which fiscal transparency will be fortified is through digitization of public procurement, which will be shifted to a new electronic platform, reducing the chances for corruption. The policy operation will also target better environmental and water resource management practices, as well as strengthening the country’s resilience capacity in the face of future health crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic.