Entrance to the Bungoma District Hospital.

Health systems need to strengthen its aim to respond to people’s needs and expectations and provide services in a fair and equitable manner for a steady supply of medical products thus more effective and efficient delivery systems.

 A developing region like Western province faces many challenges to building robust, reliable health systems. These challenges include insufficient financing, lack of inter-agency coordination, poorly-functioning information systems, health worker shortages and supply interruptions.

 District health and Sanitation officer for Bungoma County Mr. Michael Wamalwa Kubasu revealed that Bungoma County could be placed at average as health services are concerned especially on maternity section despite patients having had increased by big percentage compared to other parts of the country.

Read: Webuye District Hospital crowned the best in provision of maternity services

He added that time management was the key challenge in the past in most health centers in the region for example Bungoma Hospital; patients of various illnesses didn’t have specific days as when they should report for treatment.

“Such cases occurred when patients used to be called for emergency treatment due to the availability of the doctors by that time caused by health-care workers limiting the ability of many government roles to meet the MDGs therefore weakening the existing health-care delivery systems and inhibit expansion of services,” He said.

 “Therefore, few cases of patients ended up not receiving treatment hence becoming a risk to their life, but right now the ministry has added more health workers and health facilities,” said Dr. Kubasu.

“Though with the new system of Counties, the government has a lot to play on health to ensure that Well-functioning health systems are achieved to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015,” He said.

He stated that the government is in the process to ensure that each and every Kenyan is accessible to health services by that time through the construction of more health centers in every location so that each person’s expectations are provided in a fair and equitable manner.

 Mr. Kubasu clarified that the government should also set in mind the key six identified component needed to establish, sustain, and strengthen a health system while allowing it to provide needed services, universal access to those services, and universal coverage of health care benefits.