No Universal Healthcare; No more Kenya

I don’t now which genius came up with this quote. But the more I research and travel around Kenya covering stories. The more I realize, “Ignorance is bliss”. When you are unaware of the mess around you, the less you feel obliged to do more than just wake in the morning, eat, watch reality TV, work, eat, and watch more reality TV.

There are several issues dear to me. But one that hit home recently was the rather pathetic healthcare system that exists in Kenya. The hugest challenge is dealing with a populace that is completely apathetic to issues unless it hits them directly at home.

This could range from the death of a family member out of negligence, or a hospital’s refusal to attend to a relative because they didn’t have 2,000 shilling ($20) consultation fee to be assessed by a doctor. And secondly I have never actually known how to rally support and drive facts to the heart of the populace to a point of action.

I know how to write the story that will provide accountability. My concern is how to actually keep it in the face of the general public to exert pressure to the ruling elite who have vested interest in private health insurance firms as opposed to Universal Healthcare.

I am really fascinated by how much I can do through Pulsewire. Right now I am scheming through the group directory to see any groups that have dealt with the issue I am pursuing. And push for Universal Healthcare and demand the revision of private health insurance policies. And demand accountability from Kenya’s National Health Insurance Scheme. The Kenyan model is a tussle between the mammoth American HMO system and a weak version of UK’s NHS system.

I am also scheming through the resource exchange list to see what and who is out there who can provide insight and direction on how to go about this. And once I have all that information I intend to post Action Alerts.

But before I burn the midnight oil doing all of this I really want to ensure that what I do online will be able to translate on the ground in Kenya. I am completely fed up of the situation in the country. And I really want the quality and accessibility of universal healthcare to be available to every single one of our 40 million strong population.