| dc.description.abstract | The Kenya health care system can be divided conveniently into three official sub sectors
namely public, voluntary ( Non Governmental Organizations) and private. The public
sector comprises the Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Local Government (MLG),
and health services of other ministries and parastatals. The Public sector is the major
provider of health services with a control of 58% of all health facilities, 52% of all beds
and 70% of all health personnel. The Ministry of Health is the third priority in terms of
budgetary allocation after the Office of the president and Education. With a budgetary
allocation of 33 billion Kenya shillings it endeavors to fulfill its mandate.
Malaria is a debilitating disease affecting millions of Kenyans each year and is the
leading cause of death in Kenya. The toll it exacts must be viewed not only in terms of
the physical, financial and emotional pain it inflicts on individual families (it kills 26,000
children per year in Kenya) but also by its macro-economic impact. The economy in
general and the health sector in particular are heavily burdened by the cost of drugs and
treatment. Malaria accounts for more than 8 million out-patient treatments at GoK
health facilities each year. Malaria accounts for 30% of all outpatient attendance and 19%
of all admissions to our health facilities and remains the leading cause of death and
illness in Kenya.
The primary objective of this study is to determine responses of the Ministry of Health to
the challenge of malaria in Kenya. The other objective of the study is to establish the
effectiveness of the responses or interventions by the Ministry of Health towards the
Malaria pandemic in Kenya. The study also highlights the challenges the MoH faced in
tackling the malaria pandemic both previous and current challenges and the measures the
ministry has instituted to counter these challenges.
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In this study a number of senior officials of the Ministry of Health were interviewed and
a tape recorder was also used to record information from in-depth interviews. The
Ministry of Health has faced several challenges with diseases in general and more so with
Malaria. Malaria is a debilitating disease affecting millions of Kenyans each year and is
the leading cause of death in Kenya. The country's ecology provides ideal conditions for
the malaria-carrying mosquito; especially in coastal and lake regions. Climatic conditions
are conducive to outbreaks of epidemic intensity in other areas, such as intensively
farmed highlands and semi-arid North-Eastern parts of the country. Capacity and
resources for prevention and treatment are inadequate. Cumulatively, malaria
represents a massive barrier to socio-economic development and poverty alleviation.
The responses by the Ministry of Health as highlighted in the study have immensely
contributed to the reduction in the threat posed by malaria. It is therefore recommended
that organizations must set up operational as well as strategic priorities in meeting their
long term goal of fulfillment of stakeholder expectations. The study focused on the
Division of Malaria Control and should be emulated by other divisions within the
Ministry of Health to compare their strategic responses. A further study should be carried
out to outline the impact of private sector influence in the implementation of Malaria
control strategies by the Ministry of Health. I also recommend a study on the impact of
the Malaria Control Strategies by the year 20 I0 by the Ministry of Health in Kenya in a
bid to achieve the Abuja Declaration Targets of halving the number of Malaria cases. | en |
