The Senate Committee on Health has raised alarm over critical healthcare challenges in Kakamega and Bungoma counties. During an oversight visit on Saturday, November 15, committee members observed that major hospitals, including the Kakamega and Bungoma referral hospitals, are struggling with severe staff shortages despite having trained personnel available.
Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson highlighted that the problem is not the lack of trained staff but the absence of sufficient resources to hire them permanently. “We have enough well-trained personnel; our challenge is resources, but we can still do better with what we have to improve service delivery for our people,” he said. The committee called on county executives under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) program to utilize national government resources to hire UHC staff on permanent, pensionable terms.
The visit also revealed serious overcrowding at the Bungoma County Morgue, which is built for 20 bodies but currently holds 50. The committee expressed concern over this and other challenges, including frequent healthcare system failures that affect patient record management. Senator Marian Omar urged county governments to fully digitalize health records and invest in reliable systems to improve service delivery.
Bungoma County Senator David Wakoli further highlighted the rising rates of teenage pregnancies, noting that eight out of every ten pregnant women in the county are under 18. He called for a collective effort from the government, parents, and communities to curb this worrying trend.
The committee assured that a comprehensive report detailing healthcare gaps in the two counties would be compiled and tabled in Parliament to prompt corrective action.
“The Senate Committee on Health conducted an oversight visit to Bungoma and Kakamega County Referral Hospitals, as well as other health facilities, to assess healthcare service delivery, infrastructure, and resource utilization in public health institutions,” a statement from Parliament read.
The findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to strengthen Kenya’s healthcare system and ensure safe, efficient, and equitable services for all citizens.
