Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC) has a mandate to provide advice, technical assistance and information to the national and county governments with regards to law reform. This support is in various ways among them: development and review of policies and draft bills, legal research, capacity building, and information sharing on matters law reform. As a result, KLRC receives and attends to requests from MDAs at both levels of government. KLRC has also championed the need for policy frameworks to precede legislation.
In this regard, in March 2022, KLRC was represented in Marsabit County by Ms. Catherine Wahome who participated in the review and development of the Marsabit County Community Health Policy and Bill, 2022. The Community Health Policy and Bill, 2022 seek to improve the health and healthcare services, enhance disaster mitigation and improve the socio economic status of the people of Marsabit County. Further, the policy and bill will form an integral segment in the ongoing policy and legal reforms in the health sector aimed at lowering public spending on healthcare.
While giving input during the sessions, KLRC and other stakeholders present acknowledged the significance of such legal reforms in community health and in medical practice generally. In particular, is the need to expand access to preventive healthcare services and improve well-being in various geographical places which may be prone to health related vulnerabilities. The reforms thus would also seek to achieve the convergence of health care services, economics and social responsibilities. This is essential if public health sector is enabled to: (i) develop programs to help neighborhood members in protecting and improving their health, (ii) deter the transmission of infectious diseases, and (iii) plan for natural disasters among other community health emerging issues.
Consequently, KLRC gave its commitment to work with Marsabit county and other stakeholders to support the process until its completion.