NCDs Prioritisation Progress Tracking at the County Level: Kenya Case Study
Kenya faces an increasing burden of NCDs, which account for 50% of hospital admissions, 55% of hospital deaths, and 33% of total deaths (STEPs Survey, 2015). The situation has been exacerbated further by the COVID-19 pandemic, insufficient resource allocation to the health sector, and persistent mismanagement of public resources at the national and county levels, all of which hinder health service delivery.
Through a social accountability exercise that leveraged the Kenya Advocacy Agenda of People Living with NCDs, NCDAK supported 25 people living with NCDs in Vihiga and Isiolo counties in engaging with county officials and monitoring NCD prevention and control progress through a social accountability exercise.
People living with NCDs and youth members who are part of county advocacy groups (County Chapter) received social accountability training with a focus on how to use the community scorecard.
Through a consultative process, they engaged with duty bearers to look at NCDs prevention and control through the lens of six themes:
NCD Case Investment,
Involvement of Persons Living with NCDs,
NCDs management at all levels,
Infrastructure for NCDs,
NCD Drugs and Commodities, and
Quality of Care.
The process findings will be used to inform and guide organizational programmatic decisions, as well as to share lessons learned with other counties, as we seek to increase policymakers’ prioritisation of NCDs policy review and financing in Kenya.