Organizational Capacity Development Project for Management of the Devolved Health Systems in Kenya (2014-2019)

In Kenya, the new constitution promulgated in August 2010 introduced devolution to transform the previous eight regions into a local administrative system based on 47 counties. Under the new system, the Government of Kenya found it urgent to strengthen the mechanisms for coherent implementation of national policies and priority programs at both the national and county levels. In March 2013, health service delivery was transferred to the county level while the national government retained the functions in policy development, management of national referral facilities, and capacity development. The national government and 47 counties needed to work together to ensure equitable access to healthcare and adequate financial protection for the entire population. Given this background, the Kenyan government requested JICA for a technical cooperation project to strengthen the management capacity of the devolved health system. The project aims to strengthen the managerial functions of the 47 County Health Management Teams (CHMTs). The project’s main strategic focus is the capacity development of the CHMTs in the following areas: leadership, human resource management, financial management, workplace management, team building; facilitation, coordination, information sharing, and communication. According to the implementation framework, the project is expected to achieve its objective based on the attainment of the following outputs.

  1. Strengthened managerial support functions and the coordination mechanisms in the national level.
  2. Strengthened leadership and managerial capacities in CHMTs.
  3. Strengthened horizontal learning mechanism among CHMTs is strengthened.