Kenya is well on its way towards improving quality for health after the Ministries of Health launched the Kenya Quality Model for Health (KQMH). This is a conceptual framework aimed at facilitating holistic quality improvement and management within the Kenyan health sector. KQMH was formally launched on May 8, 2012 at a Nairobi hotel. The Ministry of Medical Services and the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation hosted the launch, which brought together a wide array of stakeholders including government, development partners, implementing agencies, educational institutions and faith-based providers’ networks. The colorful event was the culmination of a process that started in 2001 with the development of the Kenya Quality Model (KQM). MORE »
“We are active not only at the national level providing advice to the national government, but we are also active at the more local level, for example the district or the counties…” Dr. Guenther Taube - Director, Education, Health, Social Protection and Human Capacity Development, GIZ Headquarters.
According to Dr. Taube, this multi-level approach of the GIZ Health Sector Programme and indeed of the German Development Cooperation is one good practice that enhances bilateral cooperation.
He was speaking during an interview after a two-day visit of the GIZ Health Sector Programme in Kenya. Mr. Jomy Attumalil, an assistant to the Managing Director Adolf Kloke-Lesch accompanied Dr. Taube to Kenya.
The full video interview can be viewed on the link embedded within this post.
Increasing capacity for gender analysis and planning, promoting sex disaggregated data and encouraging accountability through a minimum standard for gender mainstreaming are among key recommendations to be included in the ‘Gender, HIV/AIDS and access to Healthcare section of the Kenya Gender Profile. Stakeholders within the gender scope met in Nairobi in March to discuss the draft gender profile report before it is launched later this year. MORE »
Co-author: Sylvia Wesner
Response towards and prevention of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Kenya is bound to improve after the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) disseminated a road map of set standards in the field of GBV. The new developed National Training Curriculum on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) disseminated in April is expected to guide multi-sectoral trainings towards reducing SGBV. The curriculum is also expected to contribute towards quality assurance in handling SGBV cases and guarantee compliance with national and international standards.
More than 650 patients from Eastleigh and Kamukunji areas of Nairobi had their various ailments treated for free at a medical camp organized by the Biafra Medical Clinic in Nairobi. Family planning and counseling, and services (implants, Intra Uterine Contraceptive Device, pills and condoms) were the most requested for services at the two day medical camp carried out on April 13-14, 2012. Other services offered during the out-patient camp included laboratory, pharmacy, HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT), counseling and treatment from Gender Based Violence, Antenatal and postnatal care and immunizations for children. MORE »
A general lack of awareness of legal provisions within the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) remains one of the key challenges in implementing the Act almost six years after it came into force in July 2006. A report on the implementation of the Act further mentions withdrawal of cases from the formal justice system due to family interference, inadequate assurance of witness protection before and after trial, fear and stigma from lack of/under-reporting and insufficient engagement with men and boys around Sexual and Gender Based Violence as other speed-bumps towards successfully implementing the act. MORE »
Body Mapping is a creative therapeutic tool that brings together bodily experience and visual artistic expression. In its basic form, it involves painting a life-size representation of one’s body onto a larger surface and using colors, pictures, symbols and words to represent experiences lived through the body and show the path that one has taken through life. This documentary takes you through the Body Mapping process and experiences gained by participants who have attended Body Mapping workshops.
The German Development Cooperation through the GIZ Health Sector Programme promotes innovative initiatives anchored at improving health and human rights for all.
Government health expenditure in Kenya has declined from 8 per cent in 2001/2002 to 4.6 percent in 2009/2010 (Kenya National Health Accounts 2009/2010). This is a far cry from the Abuja Declaration (April 2011) where African heads of state committed to allocate 15 per cent of their national budgets to health as well as mobilize resources for improved access to HIV medications, vaccine research and prevention programs. MORE »
One of the strategic thrusts of the Kenya National AIDS Strategy Plan III (KNASP III) is to mainstream HIV into various sectors through long- term programming, addressing both the root causes and effects of the epidemic. It is for this reason that stakeholders recently met to discuss the first draft of the National Plan of Operations (NPO) relating to the mainstreaming of HIV into various sectors. The meeting held on March 22 2012, sought to identify gaps and recommendations to the NPO draft from the private sector where it was also agreed that implementation of the new NPO will start in July 2012 and implementing stakeholders will need to align and adhere to the new NPO. The National Aids Control Council (NACC) and its partners organized a series of workshops in March to look into recommendations from the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of KNASP III held in December last year. MORE »
Reliable access to quality, safe and affordable essential medicines and medical supplies remains a key challenge towards an efficient, quality healthcare system in Kenya. One of the strategic thrusts of the Ministry of Medical Services (MoMs) is to address this challenge. To this end, the German Development Cooperation has partnered with German healthcare products company B. Braun Melsungen to transform the quality of medical devices and general health service provision in the Kenyan health sector. To begin with, the partnership has collaborated with the Strathmore Business School (SBS) to train about 60 senior and mid level health managers on improving the quality of medical devices procured and health service provision in the Kenyan health sector. MORE »