Human Relations

Human Relations

FINANING PRIVATE HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN RURAL KENYA

BUSINESS SEMINAR PAPER

ABSTRACT

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Private health care

Out-of Pocket expenditure

ACRONYMS

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1 Background to the study

The economic consequences of illness in developing countries have been the focus of increasing attention in recent years. According to Wagstaff and van Doorslaer, (2003),   in many developing countries, affordability of essential services like health care has become a critical issue because households are expected to make sizeable out-of-pocket   payments to access the services. This is because demand for private health care and other various   essential services such as education has increased across income groups in respect to the low quality of government services. Russell (2004) asserts that due to nature of demand for health services, payments are made at considerable social costs to the family and can scarcely be said to represent ability to pay.

In Kenya, active consideration of health financing alternatives dates back to the mid-1980s. During the 25 years since independence, dramatic improvements had occurred in the health status of Kenya's population, mainly due to the rapid expansion of government-financed programmes in the first two decades. Since the mid-1980s, however, Kenya's economic performance has deteriorated and financial resources have been insufficient to keep pace with population growth, the impact of AIDS, and the resurgence of other diseases. In its 1989-1993 National Development Plan, the Government of Kenya recognized the critical state of health financing in the country and committed itself to a series of health financing reforms. From the late 1980s, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank, and other agencies cooperated in funding a number of studies to help the government establish which direction financing reforms should take. Based on the results of these studies, the...