By John Kariuki
The Kenya Women Parliamentarians Association (KEWOPA) convened with the Health NGOs Network (HENNET) on Thursday morning to deliberate on the imperative of fortifying immunization financing in Kenya. The high-level engagement underscored the pivotal role of vaccines in safeguarding public health and emphasized the exigency of sustainable domestic funding to ensure uninterrupted vaccine accessibility for all children.
Spearheaded by Teso South Member of Parliament, Hon. Mary Emaase Otucho, KEWOPA members reiterated their unwavering commitment to advocating for augmented financial allocations and stringent governmental accountability in immunization programs. Hon. Emaase accentuated that immunization is not merely a public health intervention but an existential safeguard that must not be contingent upon the precarious ebb and flow of donor contributions.
“To me, immunization is an indispensable lifeline for millions of children. It is a fundamental tenet of maternal responsibility, and as such, we must relentlessly champion enhanced financing mechanisms and prioritize the welfare of our young ones and future generations. Kenya must emancipate itself from the shackles of dwindling donor dependency and strive towards self-sufficiency in healthcare financing. As KEWOPA, we remain resolute in our advocacy for indigenous, sustainable solutions to realize domestic health financing,” Hon. Emaase asserted.
The discourse underscored the urgency of amplifying awareness regarding Kenya’s vaccine and immunization financing architecture, accentuating the necessity of honoring co-financing obligations for vaccine procurement, lobbying for legislative fortification and parliamentary endorsement to escalate domestic budgetary allocations for immunization programs, and devising strategic interventions to surmount impediments in fulfilling Gavi’s co-financing requirements.
Furthermore, Hon. Mary Emaase, an esteemed member of the Budget Committee, pledged to meticulously scrutinize the national fiscal blueprint to enshrine health financing—particularly indigenous vaccine production—at the nucleus of governmental priorities.
“As a member of the Budget Committee, I shall personally champion this agenda and rigorously interrogate the budget to ensure that healthcare financing, especially the advancement of homegrown vaccine production, receives the preeminence it warrants,” she affirmed.
This strategic engagement delineates a momentous stride towards fortifying Kenya’s immunization financing framework, with KEWOPA playing an instrumental role in fostering legislative and policy imperatives to guarantee sustainable vaccine access. The clarion call for heightened domestic investment resonates with Kenya’s overarching aspiration to attain fiscal autonomy in healthcare and mitigate overreliance on external benefactors.
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