Inter Press Service: United Towards Achieving Health For All in Kenya
Sicily Kariuki, cabinet secretary at the Ministry of Health in Kenya, and Siddharth Chatterjee, U.N. resident coordinator to Kenya

“…Of all the Sustainable Development Goals, few would rival good health as the definition of a country that has a sustainable, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous future, and the launch this week of the pilot phase of Kenya’s journey towards [universal health coverage (UHC)] heralds a major step towards that future. … The Ministry of Health has been working with the United Nations (U.N.) in Kenya and various stakeholders to identify what interventions represent the most effective pathways for attaining UHC in Kenya. … Our vision is for approaches that are not just affordable, but those that promote equity and effectiveness, ensuring that the rights of the most vulnerable are not forgotten, as the central tenet of universality. … The partnership between the Ministry and the U.N. system in Kenya is steadily building the foundations for a responsive health system for communities, for whom health was inaccessible, unaffordable, or altogether unavailable. … With Kenya’s Vision 2030 ambition of providing a high quality of life to all its citizens, the most urgent need is to ensure that everyone stays healthy to participate in economic development. The Government of Kenya and U.N. partnership is committed to make Kenya the blueprint for the rest of Africa on how universal health coverage can be attained” (12/13).