The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has voiced concerns, emphasizing the need to prioritize existing healthcare challenges system before embarking on a health promotion and disease prevention initiative through the recruitment of Community Health Promoters (CHPs).
KMPDU's Secretary General, Davji Atellah, in a recent statement, highlighted the potential pitfalls of adopting a health promotion and disease prevention approach through the recruitment of Community Health Promoters (CHPs) in Kenya.
Atellah expressed reservations, stating that it would be futile to introduce health promoters when the nation's hospitals are grappling with severe shortages of healthcare workers and essential medications, among other critical issues.
In his assessment, Atellah underscored that the success of a health promotion and disease prevention strategy hinges on the government's commitment to invest in healthcare.
"Health promotion and disease prevention approach is functional and beneficial if there is interest of the government to invest in healthcare," Atellah asserted.
Read More
"We need to have enough healthcare workers employed in hospitals. Actually, we don't have personnel, drugs, reagents."
Furthermore, Atellah cautioned against placing excessive reliance on Community Health Promoters, suggesting that they might be overwhelmed by the current state of the healthcare system.
"So therefore it will be like saying Community Health Promoters will be like a single bullet on the management of healthcare yet the role will be to encourage people to seek care," he noted.
The KMDU, in addition to its concerns about the healthcare system's readiness, has also called for better remuneration of the CHPs to ensure that they can effectively carry out their responsibilities without being exploited.
Atellah stressed the importance of fair compensation, stating, "It's much more accountable to remunerate people well and put them to task on the job they are going to do."
