Many in Kenya's health circles however argue that the COVID-19 crisis has simply highlighted the underfunding of the sector in past years.
In a 10 year review conducted in 2010, the World Health Organisation (WHO) rated Kenya, along with 26 other African countries, as having made 'insufficient progress' in achieving the declaration's goals.
So Kenya, like many other African countries, closed its borders and introduced preventative measures that other countries only introduced well into their individual crises.
While many African countriesseem to have been able to curb the spread of the virus, both Mbiti and Gitau agree that the strict measures, which countries like Kenya had to take, highlighted the shortcomings of an already vulnerable health care system.
Warutere, on the other hand, believes that while this year's budget still reflects pre-Covid priorities, Kenya will see a stronger focus on health in the years to come.
