How Corruption Undermines Realization of the Right to Health: A Review of the Kenyan Landscape*

Submitted: 25 October 2023
Accepted: 07 March 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.70139/rolacc.2024.1.2

Edwin Mulochi
Doctoral candidate, University of Nairobi, Faculty of Law (Corresponding author)
mulochi@students.uonbi.ac.ke

Ken Obura
Senior Lecturer, University of Nairobi, Faculty of Law

Edwin O. Abuya
Professor, University of Nairobi, Faculty of Law

“Health is wealth. No one can truly enjoy the other rights enshrined in the Constitution without being in good health. The right to health is the [source] of all rights. This is why the fight against corruption and its effect on the provision of healthcare services should be a priority.”^[1]

ABSTRACT
Corruption poses a significant challenge to good governance. Both the developed and developing states are grappling with this vice. It is, however, the latter states that are most affected. Studies have established that corruption is a hindrance to the realization of the right to health. Yet this is one of the rights provided for under the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR). The ICESCR and the ACHPR require state parties to adopt measures to ensure that persons within their territory enjoy this fundamental entitlement. Kenya is party to the ICESCR and the ACHPR. Its legal framework also recognizes this central right. Despite a robust legal regime, the realization of the right has been slowed down by corruption. So far, few studies have been carried out on corruption and its effects on the right to health. In addition, most of these studies are theoretical. The study draws on empirical research conducted at five Kenyan public hospitals. It also relies on desktop research of available literature to unravel the types of corruption in Kenya’s health sector. The article argues that it is possible to realize the highest attainable health care envisaged by international, regional, and domestic laws if the identified forms of corruption are tackled head-on. By relying on empirical data, this study fills the gap, which theoretical studies have not managed to bridge. Its findings and conclusions are also likely to inform the implementation of anti-corruption laws in general and in the health sector in particular. Finally, this research forms an essential basis for further discourse in these areas.

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*An overview of this paper was presented at the University of Nairobi Faculty of Law Seminar on 22 June 2023. Thanks are due to the participants of this session, Priscah Nyotah, Lucas Wauna, and the reviewers of this article for their constructive comments.
[1] Interview with Issa (Jan. 9, 2023).

Keywords
Forms of corruption; healthcare; Kenya; challenges; proposed solutions

© 2024 Mulochi, Obura, and Abuya, licensee LU Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cite this article as: Mulochi E., Obura, K., and Abuya, O. E. How Corruption Undermines Realization of the Right to Health: A Review of the Kenyan Landscape, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center Journal, 2024:1, DOI: https://doi.org/10.70139/rolacc.2024.1.2

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