Urgent Action Needed: Catastrophic Health Expenditure in Kenya’s Rapidly Growing Urban Areas

This brief on catastrophic health expenditure in Kenya’s rapidly growing urban areas look at how the rapid growth of urban populations poses significant challenges to healthcare access in cities in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), such as Kenya. A scoping review on the economic impact of accessing healthcare in urban populations indicates that residents across the city, including those living in informal settlements (colloquially known as slums), incur high costs but the economic burden differs when accessing healthcare. We recommend increased coverage of social protection interventions such as the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the Linda Mama maternity programme among vulnerable people living in Kenyan urban areas, while considering the complexity of healthcare provision in this context.

This scoping review was conducted as part of ARISE, which aims to enhance accountability and improve the health and wellbeing of marginalised populations living in informal settlements in LMICs. This brief presents results from the review and provides policy options to improve healthcare access in Kenya’s rapidly growing urban areas.

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