President William Ruto has said the national government is committed to ensuring that Community Health Promoters (CHPs) are fully equipped to handle health concerns at the village level.
The President said his administration will spend at least Sh.3.5 billion to provide the CHPs with the requisite medical equipment to facilitate their work countrywide.
Sh260 million will be provided annually by the national government and county governments to cater for their pay.
Under the arrangement, half of the amount will be provided by the national government while county governments will contribute Sh130 million annually to pay CHPs salaries.
President Ruto said the 100,000 CHPs to be spread across the 47 counties will play a critical role in decongesting health facilities across the country.
“Many of the conditions that end up in hospitals are minor. If they are managed early, we can manage to decongest our hospitals and we can manage our hospitals better if we go the route of promotive, and if we go the route of preventive,” President Ruto said Sunday after attending a service at Christ Church Cathedral in Kakamega.
Equipment worth Sh.120 million will be provided to CHPs in Kakamega County alone through the County Government.
As regards the management of hospitals, President Ruto indicated that he has reached an agreement with Governors to establish a Facility Improvement Fund that will ensure there is no diversion of funds meant for hospitals across the country.
