the orange newsletter volume 1 number 3. 1 november 2012

7/31/2019 The Orange Newsletter Volume 1 Number 3. 1 November 2012

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NEWSLETTER OF THE ORANGE DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT PARTY OF KENYA

Volume 1 Number 3 Thursday 1 November 2012

Patients in One of the Level Six Hospitals in Kenya

Universal Health Cover: Who Has a Better Alternative?Orange Analyst

We shall have failed badly as a nation if we

build good roads and have a sick nation.We must therefore urgently implement acomprehensive national health insurancescheme that provides universal health cover

to all Kenyans for both outpatient andinpatient costs.

The gist of Vision 2030 is the improvement

of quality of life of Kenyans. Whatever we

do, we must ensure that our people are

enjoying good health. For this reason wemust urgently resolve the controversy overthe comprehensive health scheme that thegovernment is trying to undertake through

NHIF.

As things stand at the moment, manyKenyans cannot afford decent health care.

Out of pocket spending for healthcare has

driven many families to absolute poverty,

reversing the progress we aim to achieve inimproving the standards of living ofKenyans. The total loss to the nation interms of years and lives lost due to

disability due to chronic illnesses andinjuries is equal in Kenya, a country of40million, as it is in Pakistan, a war-ravaged country of 180million; this is


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inconceivable and retrogressive if thought

of in terms of economic loss.

Right alongside free primary and highschool education, universal healthcare

should unequivocally be a quest we aim toachieve sooner rather than later if we are topresume to enter the 21st century alongside

other developed countries. A country that

cannot assure its citizens, rich or poor, ofquality healthcare, decent housing and good

nutrition is a failed state.

It is true that NHIF has faced and continues

to face serious challenges related tomanagement but we can chew the gum andcross the road at the same time. We canresolve these challenges as we implement

the new scheme that seeks to provideuniversal health care. Once you havecreated a definite plan for carrying out your

desire, begin at once. Put the plan intoaction! Endless analysis, planning andconsultation are a recipe for failure. Let usmove on and implement the plan and as we

do so we shall learn new lessons that will

help us improve the scheme for the better.The last time NHIF reviewed its premiumsin 1990 when the rate was set at KSh 30and maximum at KSh 320.They are now

proposing to raise the rates to a minimumof KSh 150 and a maximum of KSh 2000per month.

It is only reasonable then to ask ourselveswhether it is possible to enjoy the NHIF

services at this 1990 rate when all otherprices have escalated due to inflation. Theanswer is obvious that it is not possible and

hence the need to urgently address thisissue.

It is known that the private sector is

opposed to the government proposal; dothey have a genuine, cheaper and betteralternative? The proposed NHIF scheme

will offer unlimited inpatient and outpatientservices to the contributor and his family ata cost of between KSh 1,800 and KSh24,000 per family per annum depending on

the contributors income. The services

offered will include gynecological andchronic illnesses such as diabetes andhypertension. Private health insuranceschemes generally exclude gynecological

and chronic illnesses such as diabetes andhypertension. Private health insurance costsper family per annum are on the average.

Ksh 100,000 for unlimited outpatient and

inpatient (Limit KSh 1 million). Privatehealth insurance is between 4 and 56 more

expensive than the proposed NHIF scheme!The private health insurance coverage isalso more limited!

Since Central Organization of TradeUnions (COTU) and Federation of KenyanEmployers (FKE) sit on the board of NHIF

and if they are genuinely concerned withthe fate of Kenyans, they should facilitate aviable scheme for Kenyans other than

engaging in this obstructionist tacticsunless they have other interests theyrepresent which they are not declaring.

Party Leader Raila Amolo Odinga Addresses Supporters at Likoni.


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ODM Members Must Register as Voters in Large NumbersPhilip Etale

On March 4th 2013, that is five months

from now, Kenyans will go to the polls toelect their new leaders. They will be

seeking to replace non performing leadersfrom Parliament and Councils with new

ones, elect for the first time Governors ofthe 47 Counties and WomenRepresentatives in the 47 Counties.

The climax of the election will be theretirement of President Mwai Kibaki andsubsequent election of his successor. Mr.Kibaki has been the President of Kenya

since 2003 and he will not be eligible todefend his seat again in the coming generalelection as his two term limit would havecome to and end.

The ODM Party Leader Mr. Raila Odinga,the current Prime Minister of the Republicof Kenya will be running for the top seat in

the general election. Mr. Odinga first ranfor the presidency in the 1997 generalelection where he emerged in the third

position after retired President Moi andKibaki respectively.

He again tried another shot at the

Presidency in 2007 where he outrightlywon but President Kibaki refused to acceptthe defeat hence the formation of a grand

coalition government that came as a result

of protests that rocked the country when the

defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya -ECK declared Kibaki the winner and not

Raila. That is now history.

This time around, Raila, the most popularof all the other presidential aspirantsaccording to opinion polls released since2008 is giving it a third trial. He is

determined and quite optimistic ofemerging the victor.

Mr. Odinga will be facing a host of other

aspirants in the race to State Houseincluding his two Deputies in governmentMr. Uhuru Kenyatta of the TNA andMusalia Mudavadi of the UDF, Vice

President Mr. Kalonzo Musyoka of Wiper

Democratic Movement, URP 's WilliamRuto, Narc-Kenya's Ms. Martha Karuaamong others.

Next year's election will be a unique one. Itis the first ever election in independent

Kenya where a voter has to vote for sixindividuals at one go. A voter will have sixballot papers to choose their leader fromi.e. the President, Governor, Senator,

Member of the National Assembly, CountyWoman Representative and CountyAssembler.

This now calls for people to register in big

numbers as voters. You cannot vote for Mr.Odinga just by the word of mouth. You

must have the tool to enable you ensure'Agwambo' gets the tenancy of the State

House. By turning up in large numbers toenroll as voters will allow you to elect theman or woman you want to lead you.

ODM members and supporters mustregister in large numbers as voters toenable the party win the presidency, moregubernatorial, senate and MPs seats. We

also need more women representatives inthe August House and as many CountyWard Representatives as possible.

Our party is the most popular one in Kenya

hence the concerted effort by ourantagonists to form alliances with the aimof defeating it. We must disapprove the

enemy by ensuring that we vote for theparty in big numbers and win the generalelection for a general with a strong army is

always the strongest.

Director of Communications - ODM

ODM Mourns KwegaPhilip Etale

Monday morning's killing of the ODMKisumu Town West Sub-Branch ChairmanMr. Shem Onyango popularly known as

Kwega was not only a loss to his family,but also to the party which he served sodiligently and loyally.

Mr. Kwega, a businessman with a big heartand a party loyalist, was always referred toby the people who knew him as 'a man ofthe people'.

When he was elected the chairman of theKisumu Town West Sub-Branch of theODM, Mr. Kwega promised to ensure thathe recruits as many members as possible to

party and ensures that the Party LeaderEng. Raila Odinga becomes the fourthPresident of Kenya.

That show how determined this great manwas to making a Raila Presidency becomesa reality. I vividly remember, three weeks

ago when the National Elections Board ofthe party organized a national meeting ofaspirants for Governorship, Senate, MP andWomen Representative, Mr. Kwega was

full of confidence and optimism.

He attended the meeting that was graced bythe man he dreamed of getting the tenancy

of the State House, and activelyparticipated in the events of the day at theBomas of Kenya.

Only last week, Mr. Kwega was at Orange

House, the party headquarters to pick hisparty membership cards to recruitmembers. He was jovial as usual andhopeful of better things ahead. Later in the

week, the Late Kwega called a staff of theOrange House Ms. Carol Muga to confirmif the Securicor Company had delivered his

parcel of the returns of the recruitmentexercise he had conducted in Kisumu.

Indeed, the parcel was delivered and the

process of keying in the data of what hebrought is ongoing. Mr. Kwega did not liveto see his dream of a Raila Presidencycome true. He did not live to see Kenya

change to the better as he had hoped for.

A bullet fired by a mean creature of Godtook away his life. He is no more. He isgone. Reason? No one knows. His beloved

wife was injured by a bullet a dis fightingfor her life in hospital.


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The shooting happened barely two days

after the cold blood murder of a renownedScientist at the CDC/KEMRI in KisumuDr. Joseph Odhiambo outside his gate inKisumu town.

Insecurity has become a major cause of

worry in Kisumu town and its environs.Several people have in recent days losttheir lives in the hands of mercilessgunmen, many injured and property lost.

The government should ensure every

Kenyan is secured from the trigger happygunmen who have no regard for human life.

A Healthy NationLarry Gumbe

The ODM has a vision for qualityhealthcare for all. The ODM governmentformed after the 2013 elections will strive

for the following:

Medical care service reform anddevelopment to ensure regional equity

New facilities giving special attentionto historically disadvantaged areas

Promotive and preventive healthcareprogrammes

Transforming healthcare systemmanagement and financing

Enforcing procurement regulations toensure value for money and integrity

Healthcare human resourcedevelopment

Focusing on diseases that are currentlymajor killers in Kenya

The enjoyment of the highest attainablestandards of health is not only afundamental human right but a major

prerequisite to economic development.Healthcare is therefore not just a consumergood but a critical investment since there isa direct link between the health of a people

and its productivity.

We believe that improved health status isboth an outcome and a means of economic

development. We aim to provide anintegrated and comprehensive range ofquality health services including primary,

secondary and tertiary levels of care. Weshall create a low cost, equitable, highimpact, evidence-based and results-orientedhealthcare system that assures the goodhealth of each and every Kenyan

The healthcare sector in Kenya is poorlymanaged. Healthcare facilities are wanting,unaffordable and the services in many areas

removed from the peoples needs.

Kenya has a highly skilled and competenthealthcare workforce and as such, we have

been losing many of them to othercountries while facing a shortage here athome. Currently, the government employs

about 1,080 doctors, 2,148 clinical officersand 16,015 nurses who are inadequate forour current rapidly growing population.The government currently spends only

about 1.6% of the GDP on health, apercentage similar to that spent on themilitary which is not enough.

The ODM healthcare programme shalltherefore include the following:

Medical care service reform and

development to ensure regional equitythrough:

Rehabilitating and improving existingfacilities so that they provide effectiveand affordable Medicare to each andevery one in Kenya equitably;

Building new facilities giving specialattention to historically disadvantaged

areas to ensure social inclusion;

Devolving the healthcare resources,systems and structures;

Focusing on diseases that are currentlymajor killers in Kenya: respiratorydiseases (especially TB andpneumonia), malaria, HIV/AIDS and

diseases propagated by unsanitary,unhygienic conditions like typhoidand cholera to reduce their incidenceand spread;

Developing centres specialising indiseases peculiar to the regions theyare located;

Improving relations between thehealth providers and recipients;

Providing free healthcare for childrenunder five, pregnant mothers, personswith disabilities and senior citizens

(over 60 years);

Monitoring the regulation, productionand use of pharmaceutical and

medicinal products includingtraditional medicines;

Strengthening quality assurancesystems to improve the efficiency and

effectiveness of health deliverysystems in the country in both theprivate and public sector

Undertaking promotive and preventive

healthcare programmes, with the aim ofreducing expenditures on curative andrehabilitative services. This approach shallalso endeavour to eliminate communicable

diseases and contain new and emergingstrains of communicable diseases througheffective public education by communityhealth workers.

Transforming healthcare systemmanagement and financing through:

A devolved system, decentralized toproper and functional district hospitals

in order to bring services closer and

make them meet the needs of thepeople;

Fostering strong partnerships withnon-governmental and religious-basedhealthcare providers for healthcare

provision since they currentlyconstitute almost 50% of healthcareinstitutions;

Supply of medicines and equipmentbased on area demand rather thanindiscriminate countrywide

distribution to avoid dumping andcorruption associated with centralized

supply;

Enforcing procurement regulations toensure value for money and integrity

in procurement;

Encouraging cheap national healthcareinsurance schemes for each and everyKenyan;

Strengthening monitoring andevaluation at local and national levelsto get feedback for improvement.


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Healthcare human resource development

by:

Making sure that the education andtraining programmes for medicalpersonnel in Kenya are of the highestinternational standards;

Improving the working conditions andterms of service of healthcarepersonnel to ensure that we retain

those we train to provide for ourpeople;

Hiring more medical personnel inpublic institutions and communityhealth workers to cater for the great

needs of our country, paying special

attention to marginalised areas;

Allocation of resources for research intosolutions for eradication of major diseases

in the country and upcoming diseases;

Events

Date Event Venue

1. Thursday 29 to Friday 30 November 2012 ODM National Delegates Conference2. Monday 3 to Thursday 6 December 2012 ODM Nominations

The Orange is a Newsletter of the Orange Democratic Movement Party of Kenya

Readers are invited to submit their articles for publication at the address given below:

Prof. Larry GumbeEmail:[email protected]

SMS: 0713 764809

-

The Orange Democratic Movement Party of KenyaOrange House

Menelik Road, Kilimani AreaP.O. Box 2478, 00202

Nairobi.Email:[email protected]

Check out our website atwww.odm.co.ke

Opinions of contributors are not necessarily those of the ODM.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.odm.co.ke/http://www.odm.co.ke/http://www.odm.co.ke/http://www.odm.co.ke/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

the orange newsletter volume 1 number 3. 1 november 2012

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