Provision of quality healthcare should be counties' top priority

The ongoing doctor’s strike in Kiambu County has once again exposed the dark underbelly of neglect of the Kenyan healthcare sector. And following news that 136 newborn babies have died during 127 days of doctors strike in Kiambu County, Kenyans must confront the fact that the situation is dire, and turning all the more violent.

Denying mothers and their newborn babies the health services that they need is classified as obstetric violence. Already, sexual and reproductive health and rights are difficult to procure, particularly after the recent  US aid cuts. That this problem should extend to obstetric service delivery, however, is unconscionable as  obstetric services are often a matter of life or death.

Essentially, the 136 newborn deaths signal that Kenyans cannot fully trust their institutions. This matter will present a special polarity as we vote in our five-yearly elections. Kenya, a nation whose politics depends on ethnicity rather than policy, is not manifesto based.

Political aspirants do at times prepare manifestos to back their political campaigns but they are rarely worth the paper that they are printed on. More often than not, election winners do not look back on what they promised the people, and use their time in office for further electioneering instead of service delivery.

Worse still, the citizenry does not demand that those seeking to be elected come up with cogent manifestos of what they intend to do while in office. As a consequence, systems fail, as politicians work towards pocket-filling when they should focus on delivering services, and the unfortunate consequence of this is, not only a lack of services, but ultimately death.

Perhaps it would do some good for Kenyans to measure the metric of success of their politicians by how many people died due to avoidable circumstances. Measuring preventable deaths through such glaring instances as police brutality is not nearly enough; so many more lives are lost when the government fails to deliver on its meagre promises, leading to unemployment, debt, famine, flooding, banditry and healthcare failures. These deaths tell the true tale of how a government is performing as a leadership that cannot provide jobs, food, security and healthcare is one that is failing its people.

What makes a State properly function is trust in institutions. Kenyan women trust that, by paying their taxes and making their Social Health Authority contributions, they will be able to access sufficient medical facilities should they choose to bear children. When institutions collapse, the contract between the State and its citizens is broken, leaving the vast majority with untold life losses.

The solution is not the privatisation of these services because the best private facilities only serve the privileged few, and most of the rest are not of a high enough standard. Many private health facilities are manned by unqualified or under-qualified medical professionals, and malpractices abound when healthcare is viewed as a business.

The provision of healthcare should not, in fact, be approached as a business, but rather as one of the most basic human rights. In order to preserve this human right, county governments must play their role, not only by setting up functioning facilities but also by adequately compensating doctors and other healthcare personnel for their labour.

As well, Kenyans must not become comfortable with the cycle of collective bargaining agreements that is endemic to such services as education and healthcare provision. Payment of salaries for work done is also a right that should not be subjected to regular begging from trade unions asking that the government honour its promises.

After all, payment and salary increments for parliamentarians are smooth-sailing processes, and salaries increase regularly for this privileged few without a hitch.

Ms Gitahi is an international lawyer