Mudavadi: Kenya Must Prepare For The Next Health Shock, Build System That Can Withstand Crises
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has warned that Kenya will inevitably face another health emergency and must urgently build a resilient health system that can anticipate threats, withstand shocks and continue delivering services during crises.
Speaking at the Kenya Health Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC) in Nairobi on Tuesday, Mudavadi said Kenya must move away from reacting to health emergencies and instead invest in systems that can detect and prepare for emerging threats before they become full-blown crises.
“The question before us is not whether Kenya will face another health shock. We will. The question is whether, when it comes, we will be ready,” Mudavadi said.
The summit, themed “Reforms Delivered; Health as a Right,” brought together national and county leaders, health workers and development partners to review progress on Universal Health Coverage and health security.
Mudavadi said the global health environment was changing rapidly, with disease outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance, non-communicable diseases, demographic change, climate change and new technologies creating risks that required a different approach to health.
“Health is no longer only a social-sector concern; it is a question of national resilience, economic security and sustainable development,” he said.
He noted that disruptions to health systems could affect schools, workplaces, trade, tourism and the wider economy, adding that the real test of a health system is not how it performs under normal conditions, but whether it can continue functioning when conditions are not normal.
“The real test of a health system is not how it performs when conditions are normal, but whether it can continue functioning when they are not,” he emphasized.
The Prime CS called for strengthening of surveillance, diagnostics, health workforce, supply chains, digital information systems, emergency preparedness and community structures.
He also called for stronger foundations for what he described as Kenya’s health sovereignty, saying constrained and unpredictable global health financing required an honest conversation about sustainable domestic financing while maintaining partnerships that strengthen local institutions.
He said medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and other health products should be treated as strategic assets, particularly during a crisis. Kenya should consider not only what it can afford to import, but also what it can produce and the capabilities it can develop locally.
“The focus on local manufacturing, research, innovation, quality and safety could help link health with industrialisation, jobs and economic resilience,” he said.
Mudavadi further highlighted climate change as an increasing public health emergency, noting that floods, droughts, extreme heat, food insecurity and changing disease patterns were placing new pressure on health systems. He said Kenya should build climate resilience into its infrastructure, supply chains and emergency preparedness.
On regional health security, he called for stronger cross-border surveillance and cooperation, citing Kenya’s position as a regional hub for aviation, trade, tourism and diplomacy.
“Protecting health security also protects our economy and our position as a regional hub,” he said.
On devolution, Mudavadi said national and county governments must work together to deliver one national health outcome, with success measured by citizens’ experience rather than policies created.
“The ultimate test of reform is not the number of policies or institutions we establish, but the experience of the citizen,” he said, asking whether Kenyans can access care, afford it, get it when needed and receive good quality services.
He urged that the Summit Communiqué and Joint UHC Acceleration Plan should translate ambitions into clear commitments, timelines and accountability, answering three questions: Who will do it? By when? And how will Kenyans know that it has been done?
Mudavadi called for a shift “from dependence to sustainability, from reaction to prevention, and from reform commitments to reforms delivered.”
