EFFECT OF FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION ON HEALTH OUTCOMES IN KENYA
Abstract
Health system in Kenya was devolved in March 2013 whereby the national government retained oversight and regulatory functions while county government were assigned curative, preventive, and promotive heath service within their jurisdiction. Countries such as USA, Australia, Canada, India and Nigeria have had mixed health outcomes after devolution while others have had to reverse devolution of healthcare governance. Following decentralization of healthcare governance in Kenya, investment into healthcare has risen significantly. However, the actual impact on key health outcomes in Kenya is yet to be determined objectively. The research aimed to evaluate the effect of fiscal decentralization on health outcomes in Kenya. An analytical design was adopted. Secondary data was obtained from annual economic survey reports and Statistics. Abstract obtained from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics was used to obtain data that was analysed to identify trends in health outcomes before and after decentralization of healthcare governance. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the trends. Data was presented in form of line graphs, histograms and tables. Results indicated that fiscal decentralization has negative and significant effect on immunization coverage and skilled delivery. Further political, civil service and fiscal decentralization was recommended.
Key Words: Fiscal Decentralization, Health Outcomes
CITATION: Mbogori, M. M., & Iravo, M. A. (2019). Effect of fiscal decentralization on health outcomes in Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 6 (2), 1953 –1963.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v6i2.1230
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