Kakamega County Reaches Milestone with AMPATH

Dr. Wilson Aruasa, MTRH CEO

Dr. Wilson K. Aruasa, CEO of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), led officials from AMPATH and Moi University College of Health Sciences in signing the Human Resources for Health (HRH) MOU with the County Government of Kakamega late last month.  

USAID-PEPFAR supports MTRH-AMPATHPlus to provide care for over 39,000 people living with HIV in Kakamega County. MTRH-AMPATHPlus employs over 300 staff including nurses, clinical officers, laboratory technicians among others at cost of 2.4 million USD annually (Ksh. 240,000,000) to support gaps in HIV care.

The signing of the MOU is a milestone in USAID’s strategy coined ‘Journey to Self-Reliance’ that will see respective governments take charge of planning, budgeting and implementation of health and other development programs. As part of the strategy, governments are expected to progressively transition healthcare workers into the government payroll as a measure of sustainability and retention of highly trained and experienced staff.

AMPATHPlus will begin to transition HIV human resources to the county government with plans to eventually transition the other HIV service delivery to the county government through MTRH-AMPATHPlus. The goal is to gradually transition HIV funding directly to the county over a period of five years following strengthening of health systems, as well as financial and administrative systems. Transitioning of Human Resources for Health underscores the need to provide and retain trained personnel who are the cornerstone of Kenya’s strategic response to the increasing demand for medical care due to the growing population and the prevalence of HIV.

To achieve this objective, the County Government of Kakamega undertook healthcare financing reforms through a bill enacted into law on 22nd December 2020. The Kakamega HIV, AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Management ACT provides an opportunity for direct partnership in a first of its kind Government-to-Government HIV funding. The MOU is designed to provide a framework for collaboration between the parties in respect to the management of the donor supported workforce.