Kenya

Improving equitable access to health services is a priority for the health sector in Kenya, with efforts to increase the availability of health workers and reduce the financial burden of care featuring strongly in the second National Health Plan (2005-2010). However, the formation of the Coalition Government in 2008, which resulted in the Ministry of Health being split into the Ministry of Medical Services (MOMS) and the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MOPHS), has bought new challenges to the effective implementation of policies and healthcare coverage remains highly inequitable.

RESYST research in Kenya

Financing

• Research will look at expanding fiscal space through increasing the effectiveness of tax collection systems. The research will use case studies of experiences of improved tax collection based on interviews with key stakeholders and document reviews.
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• Researchers will critically assess the performance of health care purchasers in Kenya as part of the RESYST multi-country study on purchasing.

Health workforce

• Descriptive audits of training institutions in Kenya will examine the emerging role of private nursing schools, and how these compare with public training institutions.

Governance

• Learning Sites in Mombasa and Malindi, Coast Province, will be used to study community involvement in local health management groups and to investigate specific leadership issues that arise and approaches to strengthening the leadership capabilities of health managers. Detailed work within Learning Sites will be complemented by mapping of accountability mechanisms and their functioning.
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• We will conduct a detailed investigation of policy implementation experience through a qualitative evaluation of a national financing intervention - the Health Sector Services Fund.
  Research summary