Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has urged Kenya to increase investment in its health system, warning that disease outbreaks, climate change, antimicrobial resistance and new technologies are creating threats that require the country to prepare before crises strike.
Speaking during the Kenya Health Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on Tuesday, Mudavadi said the changing global health environment had made healthcare a key part of national security, economic stability and the country’s ability to withstand future shocks.
“The global health environment is changing rapidly. Disease outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance, non-communicable diseases, demographic change, climate change and new technologies are creating risks that require us to think differently about health. Health is no longer only a social-sector concern; it is a question of national resilience, economic security and sustainable development,” Mudavadi said.
He warned that a breakdown in health services would affect more than hospitals, with disruptions potentially spreading to schools, workplaces, trade, tourism and the wider economy.
Mudavadi said Kenya must change its approach from dealing with health emergencies after they happen to identifying risks early and putting systems in place to respond effectively.
“We must therefore move from responding to crises to anticipating them. The real test of a health system is not how it performs when conditions are normal, but whether it can continue functioning when they are not. That requires investment in surveillance, diagnostics, health workers, reliable supply chains, digital information systems, emergency preparedness and strong community structures.”
The Prime Cabinet Secretary also called for greater attention to health sovereignty as international health funding becomes more limited and less predictable.
He said Kenya should strengthen domestic financing while continuing to work with partners in ways that build local institutions, skills and capacity.
Mudavadi said medicines, vaccines, diagnostic tools and other health products should be treated as strategic resources, especially during emergencies, and challenged the country to increase local production and innovation.
“Medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and other health products are strategic assets, particularly during a crisis. We should therefore ask not only what we can afford to import, but what Kenya can produce, what we can innovate and what capabilities we can build,” he said.
He said greater investment in local manufacturing, research and innovation would not only strengthen healthcare but also support industrialisation, create jobs and improve the resilience of the economy.
Mudavadi also raised concern over the growing impact of climate change on public health, pointing to floods, drought, extreme heat, food insecurity and changing disease patterns as pressures that health systems would increasingly have to deal with.
He called for climate resilience to be built into health facilities, supply chains, disease surveillance and emergency response plans.
Given Kenya’s role as a regional centre for aviation, trade, tourism and diplomacy, Mudavadi said the country also needed stronger cross-border disease surveillance and closer cooperation with neighbouring countries.
He further stressed the need for national and county governments to work together to deliver a common health outcome under the devolved system.
Mudavadi said the real measure of health reforms should be the experience of ordinary citizens and whether they can get quality healthcare when they need it without being unable to afford it.
“The ultimate test of reform, however, is not the number of policies or institutions we establish, but the experience of the citizen: Can I access care? Can I afford it? Is it available when I need it? Is it of good quality? This is the meaning of health as a right,” he said.
He said the resolutions reached at the summit should go beyond policy statements and result in clear actions, timelines and accountability.
Mudavadi challenged stakeholders to ensure every commitment made at the summit states who will implement it, when it should be completed and how Kenyans will be able to establish whether it has been delivered.
He said Kenya must prepare for future health emergencies by building a system capable of identifying threats early, continuing to provide services during disruptions and recovering quickly when crises occur.