Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has reaffirmed the Kenyan government’s strong commitment to ending fragmentation in the health sector by implementing a fully digitized health system. Speaking at a high-level consultative meeting with Development Partners in Health, Kenya (DPHK) held in Nairobi, Duale emphasized the crucial role of digitization in improving healthcare delivery across the country.
According to the CS, all existing and future health systems must be certified and coordinated under the newly established Digital Health Agency as stipulated by the Digital Health Act. This move aims to create an integrated digital framework that will unify efforts, align donor support with national priorities, and ensure sustainable progress in healthcare services.
Duale highlighted several benefits of digitization, including enhanced service delivery, the enabling of telemedicine, and the ability to track and trace health products to end users, which will help guarantee the quality and safety of medical supplies. Furthermore, a fully digitized system will ensure that only qualified health professionals provide care, thereby improving the overall standards of service.
The digitization initiative is part of broader reforms under the government’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda, linked to the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). Duale outlined six foundational pillars supporting Kenya’s UHC progress: publicly financed primary healthcare, a rights-based social health insurance model, transparent digital systems, strengthened emergency and referral services, sustainable health commodity security, and a motivated, well-distributed health workforce.
He stressed the importance of coordinated efforts, aligned investments, and shared accountability among all stakeholders for effective health service delivery. Duale committed to institutionalizing the existing partnership framework under the principles of “one national plan, one budget, and one monitoring and evaluation framework.”
Praising DPHK for their ongoing contributions in policy dialogue, financing, technical support, and capacity building, the CS called for a shift from fragmented goodwill to structured alignment and cooperation to achieve Kenya’s health sector goals. This unified approach promises to transform health service delivery, making care more accessible, efficient, and sustainable for all Kenyans.
