The Ministry of Health is prioritizing disease prevention, patient safety, and county-level collaboration to ensure all Kenyans access timely care, Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni has said.
Speaking in an interview with Radio Generation, she highlighted the government’s dual focus on educating citizens to prevent diseases and building a strong health system that reaches every county.
“Health is something that touches on everybody. You want to keep the country protected, and at the same time, educate people,” she said on Thursday.
“Our key mandate is prevention and promotion. We want people to know how to prevent minor ailments, because 70% of the diseases that we have are actually preventable.”
PS Muthoni explained that policies from the national level are implemented in partnership with county governments to ensure Kenyans continue with their daily lives safely.
“Health is a devolved function, so we work in collaboration with the county government to ensure that the people of Kenya are protected and continue with their daily lives,” she said.
The PS also highlighted the government’s surveillance system, which monitors potential health risks at border points and within communities through trained health promoters.
“We have a very strong surveillance service in the unit. We are able to do surveillance before anything comes out,” she said.
On curative services, PS Muthoni said primary health care has been strengthened to guarantee free treatment at facilities, while quality of care and patient safety remain central.
“We have actually come out stronger to create an act just around quality of care and patient safety,” she said.
The PS further noted that past challenges with infrastructure, facility management, and commodity availability have been addressed, including reforms at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority, which have improved medicine access.
Muthoni emphasized that patient rights remain a critical focus.
“We had not talked about a patient. That is why you still see people taking videos in hospitals saying they have been neglected. There is no law that governs this,” she explained.
To address this, the government is implementing five key health laws, including the Digital Health Act 2023 for interconnectivity of patient data, and the Social Health Insurance Financing Act, which ensures access to curative services.
Other initiatives include the Primary Health Care Fund for free services at local facilities, the Social Health Insurance Fund for higher-level care, and the Chronic and Emergency Illness Fund for accidents and critical illnesses.
In addition, PS Muthoni also highlighted the Facility Improvement Financing Act 2023, which guarantees that health funds are ring-fenced and cannot be reallocated for non-health projects.
“If that money has been allocated for health, it can never be reallocated. It is ring-fenced,” she said.
Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni concluded that these reforms and laws provide clear guidance for managing the country’s health system, prevent gaps in service delivery, and ensure that patient safety and care remain a top priority.
