Protect The Right to Healthy Living

Protect The Right to Healthy Living

Press Statement

Preamble

Clergy and church leaders drawn from the NCCK Nairobi Region, which includes Nairobi and Kiambu counties, have held a two-day forum here at Jumuia Conference and Country Home, Limuru, to review the state of the nation with a focus on the growing pandemic of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). The forum was inspired by the scripture recorded in 3 John 1: 2

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

Further, the leaders took into consideration the provisions in the Constitution of Kenya 2010, especially the following:

Article 43(1)(c) Every person has the right – to be free from hunger, and to have adequate food of acceptable quality

Article 46(1)(b) Consumers have the right – to the information necessary for them to gain full benefit from goods and services

Recognizing that Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are exerting a heavy burden on the nation, we now appeal as follows:

1. Declare NCDs a National Emergency

Without doubt, Non Communicable Diseases are now an epidemic. The NCDs are responsible for more than 50% of hospitalizations, and 39% of the deaths in Kenya. This means that NCDs are now the leading cause of death after accidents. It is therefore grossly unfortunate that the government has not allocated adequate human and financial resources to managing the Non Communicable Diseases. It is worth noting that on average, an NCD patient without complications spends more than KShs 120,000 per year on medications alone. The fact that the National Strategy on Non Communicable Diseases (2022 – 2026) was assured of KShs 8 billion from the government against a total budget of KShs 377 billion is a manifestation of the disdain at the suffering and deaths of Kenyans.

Further to this, the benefits proposed under the Social Health Authority / Social Health Insurance Fund (SHA/SHIF) for management of NCDs are way below the costs incurred by patients, requiring them to pay from their pockets for medical care and medication.

To curtail this trend and rescue the nation from a full-blown NCD epidemic, we call upon the government to declare NCDs a national emergency to facilitate attention and allocation of requisite resources.

2. Protect Healthy Diets

Research over the decades has shown that the leading risk factor for Non Communicable Diseases is Diet, especially the consumption of high levels of salt, saturated fats and oils, and sugar. To protect the health of Kenyans in line with Article 43(1)(c) of the Constitution of Kenya, we appeal for the following measures to be adopted in the immediate:

a) Educate Kenyans on Healthy Diets

We call upon the county and national governments to allocate resources to facilitate dieticians and nutritionists to use all available public forums to educate the people on healthy diets, and especially the risks posed by consumption of high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fats and oils. On our part, we have committed to use our church platforms to sensitize households so that they pay keen attention on what they consume.

b) Introduce Front of Pack Warning Labels

We call for urgent enactment of laws and regulations that will require all food processors to include Front of Pack Warning Labels that are clear to read and are of a specific colour and size for consistency. The warning labels should clearly state if the products contain high quantities of salt, sugar and / or saturated fats and oils. These labels will inform decisions families make when purchasing food items.

c) Regulate Advertisement of Unhealthy Foods

We call upon the national and county governments to immediately impose measures to regulate the targeting of children with advertisements of unhealthy foods that are high in sugar, salt and saturated fats and oils. Among other elements, the regulations should curtail the placement of advertisements for foods high in the nutrients of concern near schools or during the water-shed hours when children are likely to be consuming media. Further, we call for an immediate cessation of the use of children or children-like characters in advertisement of unhealthy foods.

In addition, we recommend that incentives be given to marketers of healthy foods to make it cheaper for them to advertise. Let us as a nation say no to sale of poisons in the name of food.

In all marketing of food products, let us be inspired by the scripture recorded in Leviticus 19:14

Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.

d) Adopt the Nutrient Profile Model

We call upon the Ministry of Health to work with stakeholders to finalize and adopt the evidence-based Nutrient Profile Model. This is an essential tool that will provide the standards for determining the acceptable levels of different nutrients in the various food groups. On our part, we commit to use our structures to sensitize the citizens on the profile model and related regulations once these are put in place.

3. Revert to NHIF until the SHIF is ready

There is a growing sense of sadness and sorrow among the clergy and other church leaders as we observe the immense suffering by individual patients and families, as well as the rising number of deaths from manageable health conditions. This is largely due to the inaccessibility of required healthcare arising from the challenges driven by the rushed transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF). Except for the increase in the amounts of premiums contributed by employed Kenyans, it is not clear why the change was necessary.

We demand that the government suspends the implementation of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and reverts to the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) until the Social Health Authority puts all necessary measures and structures in place. Let us not sacrifice any more lives just to get money out of Kenyans.

In addition, we call for a radical change in the benefits provided under the SHIF to ensure they match, or at least are better, than the benefits that we enjoyed under the NHIF. It does not make sense to us that Kenyans are now paying more money but are getting less benefits.

4. Make the Most of the School Holidays

On their part, we appeal to parents to take advantage of the two-month holiday to instil life skills, culture of work and sense of responsibility in the young ones and to protect them from those who would destroy their lives. Let us have adequate plans to fully engage the children in productive activities so that they grow to be wholesome and responsible members of the society.

In addition, we encourage parents to regulate the children’s access to social media, while teaching them to use the internet to get worthwhile information and not just for entertainment. Let us not make social media surrogate parents of our children, else we will lose a whole generation.

Further to this, we wish all the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates examinations success, even as we commend the Grade 6 learners who completed their Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) last week. We assure you all of our prayers.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, we recognize that God cares about the composition of the food we eat, as He assured in Exodus 23: 25

Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you.

We call upon the government to play its role in safeguarding the food that Kenyans eat by putting in place the necessary laws and policies.

May God help us to protect healthy living in our families and nation.

Signed on this 8^th day of November, 2024, at Jumuia Conference and Country Home, Limuru.

Rev Dr Alphonse Kanga

Chairman, NCCK Nairobi Region