Primary Health Care (PHC) is the foundation of Kenya’s health system and the most effective pathway to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Despite strong policy commitments and recent reforms, PHC in Kenya continues to face structural and operational challenges that limit access to quality, people-centred care, especially for underserved and marginalized populations.
Many primary-level health facilities operate with inadequate infrastructure, limited essential medicines, and critical shortages of skilled health workers. These gaps weaken service readiness and compromise the quality of care delivered at the community and facility level. As a result, preventable and manageable illnesses often go undetected or untreated until they become severe, placing unnecessary pressure on referral hospitals and increasing health system costs.
Community Health Promoters (CHPs), who play a vital role in prevention, early detection, and linkage to care, are often under-supported, limiting their effectiveness in delivering comprehensive PHC services. Primary Care Networks (PCNs), established to link community health services, dispensaries, health centres, and referral facilities, remain unevenly functional across counties. Weak referral and counter-referral systems, poor coordination across levels of care, and fragmented service delivery disrupt continuity of care and reduce efficiency.
Financing remains a persistent challenge. PHC is chronically underfunded, with reliance on out-of-pocket payments and external donor support continuing to expose households to financial hardship. Delayed reimbursements, fragmented purchasing mechanisms, and limited domestic investment constrain service delivery and undermine financial protection.
Additionally, weak health information systems and limited use of data for planning and accountability reduce the responsiveness of PHC services. Community voices are insufficiently integrated into decision-making, affecting trust, service uptake, and accountability.
Without sustained investment in PHC systems, workforce, financing, and governance, Kenya risks widening health inequities and slowing progress toward UHC. Strengthening PHC is therefore essential to delivering equitable, resilient, and high-quality care for all.
Amref Health Africa’s mission is anchored on Primary Health Care to transform the health of communities with a focus on women and young people. Guided by Kenya’s PHC reforms and Amref’s PHC Big Bet, we work to build resilient, integrated, and equitable primary care systems that deliver quality services close to where people live.
Amref strengthens community health systems by equipping and supporting Community Health Promoters (CHPs) to deliver preventive, promotive, and basic curative services, identify health risks early, and link individuals and families to care within Primary Care Networks (PCNs). This ensures PHC is people-centred, accessible, and responsive to real community needs.
To transform community health outcomes at scale, Amref works with national and county governments to build functional, sustainable PCNs that connect community services, primary care facilities, and referral hospitals. These networks improve coordination, strengthen referral and counter-referral systems, and ensure continuity of care reducing preventable complications and avoidable hospitalisations.
Amref embeds quality improvement and respectful care into PHC delivery, ensuring that essential services including maternal, newborn, sexual and reproductive health, family planning, NCD prevention and management, and preventive services are integrated and delivered effectively at the primary level.
Amref leverages digital solutions to strengthen frontline service delivery, improve client tracking, support decision-making by health workers, and enable the use of real-time data for planning, accountability, and performance management, driving better outcomes for communities.
Working alongside government and partners, Amref strengthens PHC financing, leadership, and social accountability mechanisms to enable government-led scale-up of proven PHC innovations. This ensures long-term impact beyond projects.
By strengthening PHC systems that are rooted in communities and owned by government, Amref delivers on its mission to transform the health of communities, ensuring equitable, resilient, and high-quality care for all.
| Project | Counties of Implementation |
|---|---|
| CHU4UHC | Nyeri, Kwale, Nakuru |
| Integrated Refugee Response Programme- Danida Transcend | Turkana |
| Learning for Life | Nakuru, Machakos, Kiambu |
Functional Primary Care Networks (PCNs) supported nationwide.
Regulations advanced to public participation stage. Amref commitment: KES 6M of KES 24M total cost.
Community Health Promoters trained to date, including 5,000+ trained nationally. Over 1,000 bicycles provided to enhance CHP mobility.
Facility-based health workers trained through in-service capacity building.
Claimed from the Social Health Authority for PHC/SHIF funding.
