KELIN On Key Reforms Needed To Strengthen Kenya's Healthcare System

As stakeholders in the health industry involved in ensuring the well-being of all Kenyans, KELIN has been hosting think tank roundtables comprising of community representatives from different counties, civil society representatives, academia, media, manufacturers and policy makers on emerging issues around access to essential medicines in Kenya. The conversations have culminated into studies on local production for enhanced sustainable supply of generic medicine, evergreening practices and its impact on access to medicine and the impacts of Free Trade Agreements on access to medicine. From this, there is urgent attention to ensure healthcare remains a sovereign agenda that prioritizes the needs of Kenyans over external interests.

1. Health as a Sovereign Agenda

The right to health is encapsulated in Kenya's supreme law of the land- the Constitution of Kenya 2010. Kenya must take a firm stand to secure health as a sovereign agenda and ensuring that health policies and priorities are driven by national needs rather than external donor interests. We urge your office to ensure that development partners align their contributions with Kenya's health agenda rather than Kenya adjusting its policies to fit donor priorities.

2. Domestic Resource mobilization and full implementation of the Abuja Declaration

The Constitution of Kenya guarantees the right to the highest attainable standard of health for every citizen. Considering this, the government has a legal and moral obligation to allocate sufficient domestic resources to the health sector to ensure this right is realized. While the Abuja Declaration's target of 15% of the national budget for health provides a useful benchmark, Kenya must go beyond this guide and allocate resources based on the actual health needs of its people. This is especially urgent given the ongoing reduction in donor funding for health, which threatens to widen gaps in service delivery. We urge the Ministry of Health to engage proactively with the National Treasury to prioritize increased and timely disbursement of health funds, including capitation, to strengthen the health system and safeguard public well-being.

3. Strengthening Local Pharmaceutical Production

A resilient health system requires a strong local pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. We encourage your Ministry in collaboration with Ministry of Finance to prioritize policies that.

• Incentivization of investment in local drug manufacturing.
• Streamlining regulatory processes for faster and more efficient approvals.
• Building research and development capacity of research institutes to enhance local innovation.

Expanding local pharmaceutical production will reduce dependency on imports, improve medicine availability, affordability and create jobs for Kenyans.

4.Intellectual Property Law Reforms for Affordable Medicine

Access to affordable medicine is a fundamental human right as enshrined in the Kenyan constitution and to achieve this, we propose the following.

• Reforming patent laws to introduce pre-and post-patent opposition mechanisms. This will ensure that patents are not granted for minor modifications that limit access to essential medicines.
• Full utilization of TRIPS flexibilities to safeguard public health, particularly in the procurement of life-saving drugs.
• A strict patentability criteria to prevent monopolistic control over essential medicines.

5. Addressing Structural Barriers to Healthcare Access

Reclaiming Rights, Rebuilding Lives

Kenya's healthcare system must be resilient to emerging global crises including pandemics, economic instability and climate change. We urge the Ministry to.

a) Strengthen health infrastructure more SO in rural and marginalized areas.
b) Improve governance mechanisms to enhance efficiency, transparency and accountability in health service delivery.
c) Address corruption and wastage of health funds to ensure maximum impact of available resources.

We have a unique opportunity to transform our healthcare system into one that is resilient, self-sustaining and just for all. As civil society, we are ready to collaborate with your office and other stakeholders to ensure full realization of these reforms.