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Kenyans roll eyes after Uhuru wins universal healthcare award

By Hilary Kimuyu September 25th, 2019 3 min read

President Uhuru Kenyatta has won the Political Leadership Award for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) from the African Union, Access Challenge.

In his address on Tuesday in New York, during a meeting on Universal Health Coverage held on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the President said Kenyans’ health-seeking behaviours, hospital visits and admissions have improved.

The award was, however, not received well by Kenyans with many wondering which UHC the AU were talking about.

At least one Twitter user retorted: “Surely, the bar can’t be this low (in Africa).”

In the last few months, Kenya has witnessed cases where patients have been denied access to either medication or admission in government hospital.

Earlier this month, a viral video of a woman giving birth on the corridors of Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital shocked many Kenyans after it captured the woman lying on the floor with the baby, whose placenta was still attached to her womb, wrapped in a shuka as staff member seemed bothered.

LACK OF SH20

A few weeks later, residents of Dandora in Nairobi county poured into the streets to protest what they termed as negligence on the part of Dandora health facility, after the hospital turned away an expectant woman, who had sought help to deliver her baby for lack of Sh20.

President Kenyatta at the high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) held on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. PHOTO | PSCU

And in July, 11 babies died at the Kenyatta National Hospital’s newborn unit from a drug-resistant bacteria known as Klebsiella.

The situation was aggravated by lack of the most basic products for taking care of babies.

In another case reported at the same hospital, a cancer patient who in April was denied treatment for failing to pay a Sh1,950 bill succumbed to her illness.

The woman was turned away by the referral hospital for failing to raise the amount.

COMMENTS

Here are but just a few of comments that Kenyans had for the president.