Kenya, like many developing countries, suffers from a persistent misalignment between policy, planning and budgeting; resulting in a failure of the government to achieve public sector targets and respond to changing population needs. To address this misalignment, the government has incorporated the World Bank’s Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) into its national planning, and the Ministry of Health has used Annual Operation Plans (AOP) to facilitate sector planning and budgeting alongside the MTEF.
Research conducted by KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme has found that several years after the adoption of these planning and budgeting tools, the desired linkage between policy, planning and resource allocation in the health sector is far from being realised. There is a need for stronger commitment and stewardship for the planning and budgeting process by senior MOH officials, and for institutional integration of the planning and budgeting processes at national and sector levels through a common cycle and framework.
