General Information

As the economic, diplomatic hub of the East and Central Africa region, the Republic of Kenya (Kenya) presents unique opportunities and cuts a competitive edge in the region as a special location for investments. It has many advantages to attract investment, including strong democracy and political stability, liberalized, strong and diversified economy, unlimited opportunities for investment across different sectors and counties, skilled labour force and culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, a wide range of suitable tax treaties, trade and investment agreements, well-established social and physical infrastructure, and institutions and organizations continuously working towards enhancing the business climate.

The Government has defined the Kenya Essential Package for Health (KEPH), based on a life-cycle approach to delivery of a comprehensive health-care package across six levels of care. The Government is the main provider of health services, but the private for-profit and the private-not-for-profit providers also serve a significant proportion of the population. It is estimated that non-public providers manage about 39.6% of the cost of health services. Roll-out of KEPH is hampered by inadequate quantities and qualities of resources (human, infrastructure, financial), and the still-evolving institutional capacity to manage the available resources[1].

The period 2005-2009 was characterized by a strong reform agenda in the health sector following many changes in governance arrangements in the country. Government allocation to health increased, with per capita health expenditure growing from a 3-year stagnation at about US$ 6.4 in 2004 to US$ 11 in 2009. During the same period, funding inflows for HIV, TB and malaria also increased tremendously, accounting for 31% of total health expenditure. Coming mainly from the Global Fund and the US President’s Emergency Programme for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), these funds enabled large-scale procurement and deployment of antiretrovirals (ARVs), tuberculosis (TB) and malaria medicines. Disease control programmes expanded considerably, mainly in response to the impetus to address the health-related MDGs[2].

[1] Dr Regina Mbindyo, Dr David Okello, and Dr Francis Kimani, Experience with Supporting Pharmaceutical Policies and Systems in Kenya: Progress, Lessons and the Role of WHO, World Health Organization, Kenya Country Office and Ministry of Medical Services, Kenya, p.2.

[2] Ibid., p.3.