‘Free’ maternity care may prove too costly

 

The government’s plan to provide free maternity care seems to have run into problems due to lack of policy direction. Reports published elsewhere in this edition document the challenges facing the plan.

Clearly, the announcement of the waiver of maternity fees was made without corresponding funding and even proper communication to health providers.

To implement the policy, which was a key plank in Jubilee’s campaign strategy, the government must provide adequate funding to enable the health facilities to procure whatever is required. Moreover, they require more staff to take care of the increased number of mothers who will seek services.

The provision of free and quality healthcare is the mandate of any government. It is a gross violation of rights when mothers and infants cannot access health services because they cannot afford them. Reduction of infant mortality and improving maternal healthcare are two of the Millennium Development Goals, to which Kenya is a signatory.

Even so, the provision of quality healthcare and specifically, waiver of maternity fees, has serious cost and policy implications. As currently constituted, the public health facilities are poorly placed to implement the plan because they have not been equipped to do so.

Indeed, the entire healthcare system is in poor shape due to dwindling resources, poor staffing that is tied to low compensation and poor management. In other words, implementing the policy will require a reorganisation of the health infrastructure.

Any new policy is bound to meet serious challenges, but people’s health cannot be subjected to experiments. The government has to provide a clear implementation strategy, backed by resources lest we turn public health facilities into death traps.