A true UHC plan has to embrace disabled patients
Patients with disabilities are often subjected to a double-injustice. They face not only their medical conditions but also a healthcare system that fails to accommodate their unique needs.
In Kenya’s quest for universal health coverage (UHC) is a critical imperative that often remains in the shadows: Disability-inclusive healthcare.
The path to true UHC must prioritise patient safety, rights and dignity for all patients, including those with disability or other vulnerability.
It’s time to break down the barriers and biases, fostering an inclusive system that recognises everyone’s worth and needs.
UHC promises equal access to quality healthcare, transcending financial constraints. However, ‘universal’ isn’t truly universal unless it encompasses those with disabilities, minorities and the marginalised. Despite the progress so far made, we need to challenge the status quo and advocate a healthcare system that ensures the dignity, rights and safety of all patients.
Patients with disabilities are often subjected to a double-injustice. They face not only their medical conditions but also a healthcare system that fails to accommodate their unique needs. To achieve true UHC, we must establish mechanisms that uphold their rights and dignity, recognising that, regardless of their physical or cognitive condition, everybody deserves respect and care tailored to their specific requirements.
The Kenya Universal Health Coverage Policy 2020-2030 touches on strengthening human resources for health. That must include sensitisation programmes and training for healthcare professionals as pivotal components to ending the stigma around mental health and other disabilities, effectively fostering an environment of compassion, understanding and inclusion.
Patient safety is not just a slogan but commitment to ensuring that nobody is harmed within the healthcare system. Negligence and ignorance can have dire consequences for patients with disabilities. By prioritising patient safety, we reduce the risk of harm, guaranteeing that healthcare is truly curative and not destructive.
UHC is not merely about a system but individuals, their lives, their dreams and their dignity. People with disabilities are not asking for special treatment; they are demanding equal access and equal opportunities. They are fighting for their right to quality healthcare that recognises their worth and unique needs.
We must listen to the voices of those who have long been silenced. By treating persons with disabilities with dignity, we make a collective commitment to a healthcare system that genuinely cares for every citizen.
The road to true UHC is long but, by embracing the diversity and unique needs of all patients equally, we shall create a healthcare system that is truly universal. This Mashujaa Day is themed on access to UHC. It’s time the Ministry of Health walked the talk and led the way in establishing a healthcare system that embraces every patient with dignity, respect and care.
This is not merely a need; it’s a moral obligation.
- Ms Kamene, founder of AbleRise Africa, is a disability inclusion advocate and champion at Nguvu Collective. [email protected].
