Health experts raise concerns on SHIF costs of treatment for Cancer patients

Experts drawn from the health sector within the non-governmental organizations have raised concerns on whether the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) will fully cover the treatment costs for Cancer patients.

Speaking during a media stakeholders forum, the experts led by Pharma East Africa General Manager Jaqueline Wambua said Cancer patients need to be comprehensively covered by the medical scheme.

"The committee that has been selected by the Cabinet Secretary for Health Susan Nakhumicha should come up with an elaborate strategy that will identify what the cost of treatment for Cancer patients will be," said Ms. Wambua.

She further added that the Ministry of Health needs to define what a comprehensive care for a Cancer patient looks like before the public remits their contributions.

"The answer lies in getting to know what the cost of treatment will be before you tell the citizens to make their monthly contributions. Until we are able to answer what the cost of treatment is for Cancer patients in the new medical scheme, then we cannot say what comprehensive care looks like," added Ms. Wambua.

The health practitioners also noted that it was prudent for the government to pay attention to what they need to invest in to tackle the crises within the sector.

"We carry a quarter of the disease health burden, such a huge proportion and we are only addressing it with one percent of the global health budget which is a drop in the ocean," said Dr. Allan Pamba, Vice President-Africa for Roche Diagnostics.

On her part, Healthcare Access Lead Dr. Ida Mbuthia expressed that the government has been reluctant on following up on the Human Pappiloma Virus (HPV) self testing kit for women that allows them to take samples independently and hand over to healthcare workers to test for the virus causing cervical cancer.

"Since its roll-out in 2021, this method of testing for Human papilloma virus (HPV) has not yielded much. There is need for government and stakeholders to work on getting more women on board for early detection,” stated Dr. Mbuthia.

“This will be a game changer in the fight against cervical cancer since early detection leads to early treatment."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 42,000 people are diagnosed with Cancer yearly in Kenya, with breast cancer leading at 6,700 while a total of 5,236 people get diagnosed with cervical cancer.