Health

Kenya’s legal framework ensures the right to primary and secondary public health care services under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, which guarantees every person the right to the highest attainable standard of health. The Primary Health Care Act, 2023 mandates equitable access to primary health care, while the Health Act, 2017 provides for specialized and reproductive health services at secondary care facilities. The Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) aims to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), including refugees. However, resource constraints, donor dependency in refugee camps, and exclusion from essential programs like mosquito net distributions hinder effective health care access. Despite constitutional guarantees, discrimination persists, particularly against refugees, intersex individuals, and other marginalized groups due to social stigma, lack of awareness, and implementation gaps. The Health Act, 2017, prohibits discrimination, but exclusionary practices and bureaucratic inefficiencies remain challenges. Kenya ensures a minimum essential level of health care through the Kenya Health Policy 2014–2030, but lack of specific legislation on reproductive health (SRH), resistance to SRH reforms, stigma, and service disparities in rural areas create barriers. Safe abortion remains heavily restricted, permitted only in emergency or life-threatening cases, leading to unsafe abortions and related complications. The National Reproductive Health Policy 2022–2032 seeks to enhance SRH access, but geographical disparities, funding gaps, and implementation challenges persist. Survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) have legal protections under the Sexual Offences Act, 2006, the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act, 2015, and the National Policy for Prevention and Response to GBV, 2014. However, stigma, weak referral pathways, and lack of trained professionals hinder effective support. Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are entitled to free medical services under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2003, but inconsistent enforcement, accessibility barriers, and social stigma prevent full realization of these rights. Judicial and administrative remedies for health rights violations exist under the Constitution and Health Act, 2017, but legal costs, bureaucratic inefficiencies, lack of awareness, and weak enforcement of court rulings limit their effectiveness. Mental health care is recognized under the Mental Health Act (amended in 2022) and the Kenya Mental Health Policy 2015–2030, which emphasize community-based care and integration into primary health services. However, funding shortages, stigma, lack of trained professionals, and inadequate access to mental health facilities in refugee camps and urban areas create significant barriers. Addressing these challenges requires better funding, policy implementation, service accessibility, and awareness programs to ensure inclusive, equitable health care for all individuals, including refugees and vulnerable populations.