'Majority of Kenyans unable to afford quality healthcare'

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – A large section of Kenyans are not able to afford quality healthcare, Kenyan president said on Thursday while speaking during this year's National Prayer Breakfast at the Parliament building.

Uhuru Kenyatta, who was leading Kenyans in prayer under the theme “A Hopeful Future”, called on the parliament to rush and enact laws on universal healthcare, noting that many Kenyans are unable to afford quality health services.

“Today, the only message I have for the leadership of both the Senate and the National Assembly is that there are proposals before you that will ensure that every Kenyan is able to have access to health insurance, because health insurance is the basis of us being able to offer universal healthcare,” Kenyatta said.

“Please expedite this piece of legislation that will allow us to ensure that our people are properly catered for, not just during times of the pandemic,” he added.

Kenyatta said that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a wakeup call for his government and all Kenyans to continue pulling together in search of solutions to the challenges facing the country.

The East African country has so far recorded 169,000 COVID-19 cases, 3,097 deaths and 116,000 recoveries.