PUBLIC POLICY, ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT.

PUBLIC POLICY, ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT.

Question 1.

Through a number of healthcare reforms, Kenya has demonstrated its intention to extend financial risk protection and service coverage for poor and vulnerable groups. These reforms include the provision of free maternity services, use-fee removal in public primary health facilities and a health insurance subsidy programme (HISP) for the poor. However, the available evidence points to inequity and the likelihood that the poor will still be left behind with regard to financial risk protection and service coverage. Healthcare reform been so difficult to achieve in the Kenya.

1. Using relevant examples, appraise any three pros of the development health system management in Kenya.
2. Kenya has well established the platform where new and existing mothers can deliver a baby at no cost. It is fair enough, unlike the days before this strategy, an expectant would start equipping herself with enough funds for the service. If this fails, she will look for other means, which means delivering outside the hospital, which is an excellent risk for the baby and the mother in that they could both contract infections like HIV.
3. The pros in the development of health system management in Kenya have helped many poor people whenever one is treated and diagnosed. The patient had to buy the drugs prescribed from his/her pocket. Still, due to this strategy, it is much easier for a patient to be treated and acquire the best medications without any difficulty since the government has bought them drugs.

• The healthcare system in Kenya offers several services at a free cost, which is advantageous to the poor when it comes to specialized treatment; for example, a patient with kidney failure can be treated at no cost and get his or her dialysis as prescribed by the doctor.

1. With specific examples, from the counties, justify any two cons of a decentralized systems of healthcare system management in Kenya.
2. Kenya has well established the platform where new and existing mothers can deliver a baby at no cost. Still, the challenge is that there no sufficient medical equipment and drugs needed to make the process successful. Making maternity services free is advantageous to both the poor and the rich, but not all poor people benefit fully from it due to the unstable budget allocated across the country. Despite the people of Turkana, Turkana County needs more medical service at a free cost. Comparing the two counties, a poor person in Nairobi County is much better than a poor person in Turkana County.
3. In Kenya, many counties vary in terms of medical equipment, which poses a challenge to many poor citizens. It is because some acute diseases do not choose a county, but it can severely damage any person within the country. For instance, in Nairobi County, there are several machines for dialysis. It’s essential for patients with kidney failure, and a county like Taita-Taveta has no single machine for dialysis. It means if a patient suffers from kidney failure, then he or she has to travel to either Nairobi county or a county with this equipment. If the health system management in Kenya had not been decentralized, it means each hospital would have the same equipment.

Question 2.

1. Problem definition and agenda setting are important terms in public policy analysis and formulation. Explain how politics shape the policy process, including its effects on the policy implementation and outcomes.
2. Politics are the engines of making things happen, especially when it comes to media. They use media to address issues which do not meet the expectation of the state conditions. They trigger vigorously alerts to the government involving the citizens, and a policy is created even though it does not follow the policy process to the later. Through this, politics have indeed shaped policymaking in that they put pressure on the president to implement the policy.
3. Given that politics have more power for policy making and implementation, they also create legal authority funding and any other requirement needed to implement a policy. They are always consistent and demanding, especially when it is a significant problem like increased road carnages, which leads them to enhance more traffic rules to deter this problem.

• The policymaking process is mainly intertwined with politics in that they make decisions whenever a problem is defined and, in the long run, drive the process of implementation. It is because politicians were elected by the citizens to influence the adoption of new development to better citizens’ living standards.

1. The implementation process of policy is entirely political. According to political science, and we have the iron triangle, which has a lot of connections between the legislature, the government, budget controllers, and the supportive agencies who collectively work together to better the lives of the citizens.
2. With local examples, critically analyze any three impacts of Weber’s bureaucratic ideal type in organization and public administration system of Kenya.
3. It is believed that in bureaucracy, several rules define promotion via technical specifications in terms of how it has more powers. It is a disciplinary control which has greatly impacted Kenya in terms of administration systems. For instance, we all know that the president has the final say over everything in Kenya and could order anything to happen.
4. Weber’s metaphor “iron cage” refers to several bodies’ connectivity, which come up with one commitment to achieve a specific goal. In Kenya, the executive is responsible for law and policymaking, which is a combination of the legislature and the president who approves it. It means that Weber’s idealism is much effective in kenya.

• According to Weber, it is clear that his idealism focused on goal achieving in that the politicians meet and discuss on how best they can achieve their goals. In kenya, it is still happening in that the elected leaders are there to serve and protect the citizens which means the goals they set they have to achieve it.