The Kenyan Health sector is in the Intensive Care Unit and it is in the process of dying and urgent remedy is needed. Kenyans are dying like flies. Kenyans are suffering and their political leaders are busy campaigning and thinking of any available public fund so that they can loot before the coming of the next general elections.

There have been numerous reports and publications about the sick health sector in Kenya especially the public one. Many reports have indicated that Kenyans long lost their confidence in the public health facilities in the country and that the majority of them prefer buying their medicine over the counter than going to the pathetic health facilities.

Public hospitals in Kenya face enormous challenges including but not limited to general hospital negligence, lack of sufficient human resources, massive corruption in the sector as well as deficient budgetary allocation of funds to government hospitals leading tom inadequate facilities, drugs and equipment.

Doctors in public hospitals in Kenya have been on a nationwide strike for more than 58 days now. The strike seems to be far from being called as the battle of the titans between the Ministry of Health, the Council of Governors and the Doctors Union, KMPDU, rages on. In the first day of the strike, more than 10 people died as a result but as the strike went on, people lost count of how many people have died so far as even the mainstream media shifted focus from the sick and just focused on the striking doctors.

If there is a place where the health sector is more sick than anywhere else in Kenya then it is the Western part of Kenya comprising of Bungoma, Kakamega, vihiga and Busia. From the face of things, it appears Western Kenya has gotten a raw deal from the so-called devolution with the only devolution that is there for them being the devolution of the evolution of misery.

In Wetern Kenya, if you have a trauma case, pray hard that the Angel of Death does not take you as you frantically to travel to Kisumu or Eldoret because there is no single facility, both private and public to handle such a case.

Did you know that in the whole of Wester Kenya, that is Bungoma, Kakamega, Busia and Vihiga, there is no single center that can handle cancer related cases? There is no facility that can handle cancer cases and there are no plans of constructing anything closer to that. Eldoret is the nearest place with the majority having to travel to Nairobi. The politicians from these regions are busy urging their ‘gallant’ supporters to register as voters to make sure that for ‘once’ they ‘propel one of their own’ into the big office, which of course will always remain a dream, in fact a nightmare.

Something more shocking is that there is no ICU bed in the entire Western region. There are only five (5) HDU beds at a private facility at Bungoma West Hospital. Western politicians are busy getting fat, building brothels as our hospitals deteriorate daily.

If you have a critical case with a sick one, in Western, say your prayer coz doctors are begging for ICU beds in Eldoret, Kisumu or Nairobi.

A Bitter Man Who Wants to bring a change

Steve Biko Wafula is a bitter man. He is a bitter man mourning for his great Western Kenya region and the pathetic state of the health sector in this region. Mr. Biko who has had to move from hospital to hospital looking for a better facility for his two patients was left a disappointed man upon realizing that the whole of Western Kenya region including his own home County of Bungoma lacked the necessary and much needed facilities to take care of some critically ill patients and those who need emergency services.

Mr. Biko who has decided to run as a Member of Parliament for Webuye West Constituency says that his main agenda will be making sure that people have access to better healthcare and asked people of Western region not to re-elect politicians who have failed to remember them ever since they were elected in office.

A Glimpse at the State of ICU in the Health Sector in Kenya

Kenyatta National Hospital is the largest referral and teaching hospital in the country. According to the statistics, Kenyatta National Hospital receives a total of 2500 patients daily and, therefore, should have at least 125 Intensive Care Unit beds but unfortunately, the hospital currently 21 Intensive Care Unit beds making it hard for many patients who are in critical conditions and cannot afford the escalated charges at private institutions to get medical attention. Read more on The ICU Sector in Kenya’s Public Health Sector.