Background
- The Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya) held a
webinar on June 13, 2023, to discuss the findings and recommendations arising from
ICJ Kenya’s review of existing legal and policy frameworks that inhibit access to health
rights and impede access to healthcare services as envisaged in the Constitution of
Kenya 2010. - ICJ Kenya notes that the Constitution of Kenya 2010 brought a significant shift to
the realisation of economic, social, and cultural rights, including the Right to Health
(ROH). - The Constitution guarantees every person the Right to the highest attainable health
standard and devolves the health function. Similarly, Kenya has ratified several
international and regional treaties and conventions that enumerate the State’s duty to
realize the Right to Health, all of which also form part of the law of Kenya under the
Constitution. - Beyond the Constitution and the international treaties, Kenya has also enacted the
Health Act of 2017 and developed various policies and strategies that guide the
priorities in the health sector, such as the Kenya Health Policy (2014- 2030) and the
Kenya Health Sector Strategic Plan (2018-2023). - Additionally, ICJ Kenya notes that Kenya’s government began implementing the
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) pilot program meant to solve the cost challenge in
the health sector to support the realization of the Right to Health.
