“Proud to be Catholic”: Kenyan Minister on Church-State Collaboration in Service Delivery

Kitale, 29 June, 2023 / 9:30 PM

The Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Kenya’s Ministry of Health (MoH) has lauded the consistency of the Catholic Church in Kenya in the delivery of services in collaboration with the government, describing the accomplishments in the education and health sectors as sources of her pride as a Catholic faithful.

In her speech during the blessing and opening of St. John's Mission Hospital Sirende in Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Kitale, CS Susan Nakhumicha Wafula said, “The Catholic Church has been at the forefront in collaborating with the National government in matters of health and education, and for that reason, I am proud to be a Catholic.”

The Church-State collaboration in service delivery “has ensured that many citizens who would probably not access services have managed to access health care services,” CS Nakhumicha said during the June 24 event that began with Holy Mass, which Bishop Henry Juma Odonya of Kitale Diocese presided over.

She cautioned the people of God in the East African nation against fraudulent entities, and calling for vigilance, lamented, “We have other people who are now masquerading using names that sound like the names belonging to faith-based facilities to defraud Kenyans.”

To promote good health in Trans-Nzoia County that is covered by the Catholic Diocese of Kitale, the Kenyan CS urged the County Governor, George Natembeya, who was in attendance, to ensure that the Facility Improvement Fund (FIF) Bill that seeks to centralize funds under the management of Health Services Management Committees is passed.

Passing the FIF Bill, she said, will enable “every fund collected in every health facility within the county to be taken back to that very same facility to enable payment of employees, purchase of medicines and other valuables.”

CS Nakhumicha promised to deploy health officers from the National Government as a resource contribution to the newly opened Catholic health facility.

She also promised to facilitate the registration of St. John's Mission Hospital Sirende as a Level VI hospital. 

On his part, Bishop Odonya pledged to foster the existing collaboration between the Trans-Nzoia County government and the Catholic Diocese of Kitale in the delivery of health services.