The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a double shock to Kenya, with both an economic and health crisis. When the first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported, the government provided several directives and instituted measures to contain the spread of the virus, including restricted geographical movement; stay-at-home directives; evening curfews; and various public health measures such as mandatory wearing of masks in public, social distancing, and hand washing and sanitising campaigns. Initially, 2% of the population tested positive, with a majority (85.9%) of these cases being asymptomatic. However, the incidence continued to rise, with urban areas reporting higher rates than rural areas. Like  many other countries, Kenya experienced several waves of infection and the introduction of new variants. Interventions have been guided by WHO guidelines,  adapted to the Kenyan context.

Contributors: Agnes Munyua, Alex Ofori Mensah, Batbayar Ankhbayar, Francis Mensah Asenso Boadi, Humberto Silva, and Pavel Manjos. This blog is produced by the Primary Health Care Financing and Payment Collaborative. Governance is an important building block for provider payment and an important requirement for countries to establish strategic purchasers who contribute to health system objectives […]

Contributors: Agnes Munyua, Batbayar Ankhbayar, Humberto Silva, Jocelyn Maala, and Kaija Kasekamp. This blog is produced by the Primary Health Care Financing and Payment Collaborative. Sound and reliable information is the foundation of decision-making across all health system building blocks and is essential for health system policy development and implementation, governance and regulation, health research, […]

As so many health systems move towards social health insurance, the issue of who should receive this at no or low cost is becoming increasingly important. The topic can quickly become highly technical and move well beyond most health practitioners’ core skills – comparing different ‘proxies’ and formulae for assessing wealth and income, as well as methods for collecting and verifying this data.

Incentivizing quality is a topic that comes up repeatedly as a learning objective for country members of the JLN’s PHC Financing and Payment Collaborative. As countries work towards universal health coverage, evidence is pointing to the fact that universal health coverage (UHC) is grounded in quality PHC. When we measure progress in UHC, we look […]

Strong primary health care (PHC) can speed up a country’s journey towards universal health coverage (UHC) rapidly, effectively, and efficiently. The current COVID-19 pandemic has shown that all countries, particularly the lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs), need to deliver comprehensive PHC services in alignment with countries’ needs, whether maternal and child health services, infectious diseases […]