Leaders from Garissa have appealed to the National government to take over two county medical facilities to boost services.
These are the Garissa County Teaching and Referral Hospital and the Cancer Centre.
Speaking in Garissa on Saturday during the launch of SHA member registration, they said the county is overwhelmed in terms of resource allocation.
“With upgrading and takeover by the national government, the county will be able to pool resources towards the health facilities at the subcounty levels, hence providing a quality healthcare services,” Fafi MP Salah Yakub said.
In attendance were Health CS Aden Duale and Garissa Governor Nathif Jama.
Also present were Garissa Senator Abdul Haji and MPs Dekow Mohamed (Garissa Township), Abdi Ali (Ijara) and ODM nominated MP Umulkheir Harun.
Yakub said unlike the county, the national government typically enforces stricter standards for medical infrastructure, staffing and service delivery.
He cited the elevation of Kisumu’s Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital to a level 6 facility.
“National budget allocations tend to be larger and more stable than county-level budgets,” Yakub said.
“Having these facilities managed by the national government will reduce dependency on inconsistent or politically influenced county budgetary allocations.”
Mohamed said that with oversight by the national government and enough resources, the two health facilities will provide quality healthcare services.
He urged Duale and Jama to consider supporting their plea to upgrade the referral hospital to level 6 under the management of the national Health ministry.
Harun said management by the national government will allow for better funding and resource allocation, as well as higher standards of care.
“I support the proposal so the county can free up funds to support subcounty hospitals,” she said.
However, Duale and Jama did not respond to the issue when they got a chance to address the gathering.
by STEPHEN ASTARIKO
