Youth in Mental Health Series #3

SDG 3: Good health and well-being

Goal: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being at all ages

Good health and development go hand in hand. Healthy people are more likely to contribute to the social, economic and political development of their communities, whereas morbidity (illness) and mortality negatively affect economic growth and productivity. Good health is essential in ensuring economic and social development and poverty reduction is sustained. 

Conflicts, prolonged crises and health shocks increase health risks for people, including in countries that lack resilient systems for health. The Ebola crisis in West Africa is a good example of how the absence of a functional health system can cause the rapid spread of an epidemic and pose huge problems. In addition, inequalities and social exclusion driven by stigma, discrimination and marginalization just to mention a few limit people’s access to basic services and increase health risks. According to the World Bank, climate change could result in more than 100 million additional people living in poverty by 2030 and increased susceptibility to health risks.

Access to the needed health services is crucial for maintaining and improving health. On the other hand, services need to be affordable to all in order to protect people from being driven into poverty due to the high costs of healthcare (Every year 1 million Kenyans are driven below the poverty line by healthcare related expenditures) .Based on the above, the concept of Universal Health Coverage was developed.

Universal Health coverage(UHC)

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines UHC as “ensuring that all people have access to the needed promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services of sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that people do not suffer financial hardship when paying for these services.” UHC is therefore a global priority objective for WHO and a major goal for reform in many other countries.

Kenya reviewed the national health insurance scheme to include everyone capable of paying premiums rather than those in formal employment only. This raised more money for healthcare services and shifted the burden of healthcare costs from the individual to the collective, however, four out of every five Kenyans still lack access to medical insurance. There is therefore need for the country to adopt more innovative ways of financing its healthcare system. 

Currently, countries with universal health care include:

Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland,Ireland, Italy,Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova,the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia,Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

SDG 3 at a glance in Kenya

As of June 2017:

1.       Maternal mortality ratio and infant and under 5 mortality ratio remain high at 362/100,000 (362 deaths per 100,000 live births), 39/1000 live births (39 deaths per 1000 live births) and 52/1000 live births (52 deaths per 1000 live births) respectively.

SDG targets: Reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70,000 deaths per 100,000 live births and end preventable deaths of new-borns and children under 5.

2.       Malaria incidence is 225 per 1000 population. (Incidence is a measure of the probability of disease occurring in a population within a specified time period).

The WHO global technical strategy for Malaria (2016-2030) set a target of reducing malaria case incidence by at least 90% by 2030.

Current interventions addressing mortality rates and Malaria incidence

• Exclusive breast feeding campaigns in the country and introduction of supplemental foods is geared towards reducing mortality rates
• Mass distribution of Long Lasting Insecticidal Mosquito nets has reduced the incidence of Malaria especially among Lake Region communities

Other interventions

•      The Beyond Zero Campaign: An Initiative by H.E. the First Lady, Mrs. Margaret Kenyatta. Mobile clinics have been delivered to all county referral hospitals. The mobile clinics have been able to treat mothers and children who would otherwise have been obliged to walk miles to seek treatment.
• ·         Mother waiting home (KIROR): An initiative of the West Pokot County Government. Expectant mothers move to KIROR near a health facility a few days to their expected day of delivery and are monitored during labour by the health personnel at the health facility thereby reducing congestion at the health facility while at the same time getting prompt services of a qualified personnel during delivery.

Article courtesy of: WHO, Ministry of Planning and Devolution, UNDP, IPS