Standards for all: enhancing universal healthcare in Kilifi

About the project

The Government of Kenya adopted the Universal Health Coverage Policy (UHC) Policy 2020-2030 to advance the realisation of the right to health for all Kenyans, as guaranteed by the country’s Constitution. While notable progress has been made, significant gaps persist in access to quality healthcare, particularly among marginalised and underserved communities. 

This project builds on previous work undertaken by Haki Yetu with communities in Kilifi County to promote greater access to healthcare. In partnership with the Uraia Trust and with support from the Danish Embassy in Nairobi, Haki Yetu previously implemented a project involving community-led assessments of health service delivery in four health facilities that revealed significant implementation challenges and persistent inequities in access to health services. The project will further strengthen community capacity to engage in health governance processes and influence healthcare provision at county level.

This will be achieved by:

• training 100 community leaders, including women, youth and people with disabilities, on health rights and existing norms and standards for health service delivery
• training representatives of Community Health Committees and civil society organisations (CSOs) on advocacy skills and the use of access to information tools for health-related advocacy
• raising awareness of health rights among local communities through the dissemination of information materials, radio talk shows and community outreach events
• training 25 community leaders and CSO representatives on public finance processes and community-led assessments of healthcare provision
• supporting the monitoring of health service delivery by trained community leaders, including facilitating meetings with health officials and analysing data collected through scorecards
• hosting roundtable meetings between community leaders and the Kilifi County Health Department to review gaps identified in service delivery and discuss possible solutions
• supporting the participation of trained community leaders in public forums on health budget processes.

As a result of this project, it is hoped that communities in Kilifi County benefit from enhanced access to quality healthcare supported by greater awareness of their health rights and improved capacity of community healthcare providers to monitor service provision.