NAIROBI, April 18 (Xinhua)-- Kenya plans to leverage the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in order to achieve universal health coverage, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
Sicily Kariuki, Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Health, told journalists in Nairobi that automation and digitization of manual processes will help to reduce costs of providing health care.
"ICT will play a critical role in ensuring all citizens have access to affordable healthcare," Kariuki said.
She noted that despite the enormous cost involved in providing all citizens with adequate health services, the government is committed to achieving the dream through the efficient use of resources.
She added that technology will also be used to reduce cases of fraud which are prevalent in medical health insurance.
"All beneficiaries will have their biometric data captured so as to eliminate incidences of corruption and malpractice," she noted.
Kariuki said that Kenya will use state-owned National Health Insurance Fund to achieve universal health coverage by the year 2022.
She said that the government is investing in health systems infrastructure to ensure that even those in remote villages have access to health coverage.
The ministry of health has completed a readiness assessment study for universal healthcare across four pilot counties which recommended using a phased approach to reach all citizens.
"The initial stage will involve subsidized health care to 10,000 households in each of the 47 counties," she noted.
Kariuki said that 40 million U.S. dollars has also been set aside in 2018 to roll out a student health insurance cover.
