HEALTH PROMOTION POLICY AND REGULATIONS

Policy development
Policy: the law, role, legislation or set of guidelines or procedures or norms from the higher level
of authority to guide the cause of action.
: is also a decision making framework of course of action to achieve a desired effect for a change.
Police maker: the member of government department, legislature or other organization
responsible for policy change.
Policy making; the cause of action dealing with a problem or matter of concern
Policy can:
a) Be broad and vision able
b) Set direction
c) Express standards, behaviors and expectation to guide actions
d) Be a concept of a stated position of intent outcomes
e) Be statement of principle
Policies are distinct from procedures and guidelines which are operational instruments or
process for applying policy decision.

Stages of policy process

Stages in brief:
1. Issue identification
 Publicized demands for government action to lead to identification of policy
problems.
 Attention that prompts the need for government action
 Agenda setting; government begins to serious consideration.
2. Policy formulation
Policies are formulated through political channels by policy making organization,
interest groups, government bureaucracies, state legislatures the president etc
3. Policy adoption and legitimization
Policy is made legitimate as result of public statement or action of government officials
both elected or appointed. This include executive orders, budget, loans and
appropriations, rules and regulations.
4. Policy implementation
It includes; all the activities that results from the official adoption of the policy, i.e after
the law is passed
5. Policy assessment
Check the achievements and shortcomings, and make the necessary changes.
Generic steps in the policy development process
1. Problem identification
2. Policy formulation
3. Placement on policy agendas
4. Adoption of policy change
5. Policy implementation
6. Outcome of monitoring and Evaluation

National Health Communication Guidelines

It is a document that aims to enable health communication practitioners develop effective programs
through provision of guidelines on health communication planning, implementation, monitoring
and evaluation. The following outcomes are expected to be achieved;

The objectives of the guidelines are;

 To ensure strengthened planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of health
communication through provision of standard implementing procedures in order to ensure
sustainability of evidence based interventions
 To empower health communication practitioners to design and implement effective
behaviour change interventions that engage and empower individuals, households and
communities to adopt ‘appropriate health practices and health seeking behaviour
 To empower health communication practitioners to design and implement effective social
mobilization interventions to enhance environments that support adoption appropriate
behaviour and actions
 To increase resources, political and social leadership commitment for development action
and goals through effective advocacy approaches.
 To provide program support related communication to facilitate delivery of quality,
equitable and accessible health services for Kenyans.
 To provide guidelines for health communication capacity strengthening at various levels
KENYA HEALTH POLICY FRAMEWORK 2014 TO 2030

The Kenya Health Policy framework, 2014–2030 gives directions to ensure significant
improvement in overall status of health in Kenya in line with the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the
country’s long-term development agenda, Vision 2030 and global commitments. It demonstrates
the health sector’s commitment, under the government’s stewardship, to ensuring that the country
attains the highest possible standards of health in a manner responsive to the needs of the
population.

Key objectives of the Kenya Health Policy 2014-2030 include:

1. To eliminate communicable diseases
2. To halt and reverse the rising burden of non-communicable conditions and mental
disorders
3. To reduce the burden of violence and injuries
4. To provide essential healthcare
5. To minimize exposure to health risk factors; and
6. To strengthen collaboration with private and other sectors that have an impact of health.

In order to meet these objectives, the Kenya Health Policy 2014- 2030 framework relies on eight
policy orientations as follows:
a) Organization of Service Delivery: Organizational arrangements required for delivery of
services;
b) Health Leadership and Governance: Oversight required for delivery of services
c) Health Workforce: Human resources required for provision of services
d) Health Financing: Financial arrangements required for provision of services
e) Health Products and Technologies: Essential medicines, medical supplies, vaccines,
health technologies, and public health commodities
f) Health Information: Systems for generation, collation, analysis, dissemination, and
utilization of health-related information required for provision of services
g) Health Infrastructure: Physical infrastructure, equipment, transport, and information
communication technology (ICT) needed for provision of services; and
 h) Research and Development: Creation of a culture in which research plays a significant
role in guiding policy formulation and action to improve the health and development of the
people of Kenya. The effects of investments in these eight orientations will be measured
through attainment of desired health outputs; these are improved access, quality of care,
and demand for services.

Kenya Vision 2030

Kenya Vision 2030 is the long-term development blueprint for the country and is motivated by
a collective aspiration for a better society by the year 2030. The aim of Kenya Vision 2030 is
to create “a globally competitive and prosperous country with a high quality of life by 2030”.
It aims to transform Kenya into “a newly-industrializing, middle income country providing a
high quality of life to all its citizens in a clean and secure environment".

The Vision is a product of a highly participatory, consultative and inclusive stakeholders’

(international and local experts, ordinary Kenyans and stakeholders from all parts of the
country) process carried out between October 2006 and May 2007. Between July and August
2007, the contents of the Vision 2030 were again subjected to open consultations in all
provinces in Kenya before the document was finalized.

The Vision 2030 strategy focuses on reforms and development across 10 key sectors:

 Infrastructure.
 Science, Technology and Innovation.
 Public Sector Reforms.
 Tourism.
 Agriculture.
 Trade.
 Manufacturing.
 BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) & ICT (Information Communication & Technology).
 Financial Services.
 Education & Training.
It has got four pillars:

1. Economic

This aims at improving the prosperity of all Kenyans through an economic development
programme, covering all the regions of Kenya

2. Social

Through this strategy, Kenya aims to build a just and cohesive society with social equity in a clean
and secure environment

3. Political

This aims to realise a democratic political system founded on issue-based politics that respects the
rule of law, and protects the rights and freedoms of every individual in Kenyan society. It hopes
to transform Kenya into a state in which equality is entrenched, irrespective of one’s race, ethnicity,
religion, gender or socio-economic status; a nation that respects and harnesses the diversity of its
peoples’ values, traditions and aspirations for the benefit of all its citizens.
4. Economic and Macro pillar

A diagnostic analysis was conducted covering over 20 sub-sectors in 2006/2007. After

considerable consultations with stakeholders, the Vision 2030 research teams settled for six
priority sectors that promised to raise GDP growth rate to the region of 10 per cent in a number
of years. These sectors are; Tourism, Agriculture and Livestock, Wholesale & Retail, Trade,
Manufacturing, Financial Services, Business Process Offshoring and IT-Enabled Services.

Sustainable Development Goals

In September 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Building on the
principle of “leaving no one behind”, the new Agenda emphasizes a holistic approach to
achieving sustainable development for all.
The 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to transform our world:
1. No Poverty
2. Zero Hunger
3. Good Health and Well-being
4. Quality Education
5. Gender Equality
6. Clean Water and Sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequality
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
12. Responsible Consumption and Production
13. Climate Action
14. Life Below Water
15. Life on Land
16. Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
International health promotion regulations
Operational guidelines for health promotion
The Major HP Actions;
Creating Environments that Support Health; For health to be created, improved or
maintained, supportive conditions must exist. Health development is usually assumed to be the
business of health systems, but there is increasing evidence that it is made easier or possible
primarily through the creation or improvement of various social, economic and physical
conditions and circumstances. HP practitioners therefore need to work with their counterparts in
sectors such as agriculture, transport, law enforcement, finance, gender, and education to
promote production of safer and healthier goods and services, provision of healthier public and
private services, as well as leaner, more user -friendly environments.
Strengthening community actions;
The majority of HP actions are effective when relevant communities are enabled to participate in
priority-setting, decision-making, strategy-making, and implementation as well as evaluation of
interventions. Health promoters serve as a brokers and catalysts whose role is to enhance
awareness about the need for specific health actions and to mobilize self-help and collaboration
among community members. They also facilitate acquisition of information about health
determinants and how to tackle them, provision of learning opportunities for health, and advise on
how to obtain resources for required interventions.

Developing and Applying Health Policy; A healthy public policy incorporates very broad
visions of health and goes beyond the health care system and its traditional hospital and
physician-based care. It is concerned with the role of government and the public sector in
creating the conditions that promote and support health.
Examples include school health policy, alcohol policy, etc. In general terms, policy is an
important tool that serves to direct the ways individuals and groups act to improve health. The
HP practitioner supports, coordinates, initiates, and motivates the mechanisms and players
needed to develop and implement a healthy policy.

Working with Health and Related Services to Make Them More People-Friendly; Health
services are important in the attempt to promote health. Sadly, most conventional and
especially government services are structured to provide mainly curative services and some
preventive interventions such as vaccinations and family planning. It is for this reason, therefore,
that HP works closely with health services to ensure that all health actions have a health-promoting
element. There is need for sensitivity and response to the needs of individuals and communities.
Health care providers need reorientation and retraining so as to acquire a broader mindset and new
skills with which to support health-promoting activities in the course of their normal service
delivery. HP brokers the relationship between health services and communities so that the
necessary reorientations are carried out. The ideal situation is a formal partnership between
communities or groups and service delivery.

Developing Personal Skills

HP endeavors to enable people to exercise effective control over their health. This is done
through providing information, offering health education, strengthening life skills, facilitating
attitude change, and giving motivation for action. Using the listed and other interventions, the
health promoter makes sure that the individual has more options in life and that the healthier
choices are the easier ones. The individual is empowered to learn, prepare for living throughout
life, and cope with illness and injuries. Development of personal skills takes place at home,
school, work, religious setting and the broader community setting. The health promoter should
therefore identify opportunities for the strengthening of skills in various settings.

The objectives of the guidelines:

1.To clarify concepts and definitions used in HP
2. To describe the HP process in terms of strategies, approaches, action areas, and methods
3. To provide reference material for the design, implementation, and evaluation of HP
programs/interventions
4. To enhance the quality of HP through specification of competencies and standards of HP
practice.

Health Act 2017

The constitution expressly provides right to health Article 43(1) which led to enactment of health
act 2017.
Article 43(i) (a) of the constitution states that every person has the right the highest attainable
standard of the health which include the right to health care services, including reproductive health
care. The newly enacted article measures the achievement of the fundamental human health right
in terms of:
1. Availability; - Public health care facilities, goods and services as well as programs
have to be available in sufficient quantity within the state party.
2. Accessibility; – health facilities, goods and services have to be accessible to
everyone without discrimination within jurisdiction of the state.
3. Acceptability; – goods and services and health facilities must be respectful of
medical ethics, culturally appropriate, sensitive to gender and respectful to
confidentiality.
4. Quality; - services be delivered by health care professionals through health care
system.