NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya lacks accurate, up-to-date data on persons with disabilities, a senior Ministry of Health official has revealed, raising concerns about funding gaps and limited access to care for millions of Kenyans living with functional difficulties.
Petronila Bwaso, a programme officer in the ministry’s Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) division, said on Friday that the government still relies on the 2019 census, which placed the number of people with disabilities at 2.2 million.
“That data can’t give us enough resources for funding because it’s not disaggregated into various age groups,” Bwaso said during a stakeholder meeting in Nairobi.
The event, hosted by the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC), convened 50 representatives from the disability community to contribute to the upcoming Kenya Syndemic Diseases Strategic Framework (KASF III) 2025–2030.
The framework will guide the national response to HIV, TB, malaria, hepatitis, and other public health threats.
More recent estimates suggest the true scale of disability in Kenya is far higher.
According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, about 15 percent of Kenyans aged five and above—roughly 7.5 million people—live with at least one functional difficulty, such as seeing, hearing, moving, or communicating. Of these, around 2.5 million face severe challenges.
Despite this, access to essential health services remains severely limited.
A 2022 Support Needs Assessment by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics found that only 5 percent of persons with disabilities have health insurance—far below the national average of 20 to 25 percent.
Financial and physical barriers persist: 60 percent cited cost-related obstacles, while 40 percent reported issues such as inaccessible toilets and missing ramps.
One in four said they had faced discrimination or negative attitudes from healthcare workers.
Caregivers also bear a heavy burden. Nearly 70 percent reported physical exhaustion, 60 percent described emotional strain, and half said they had either quit or cut back on work to provide care.
Bwaso warned that stigma continues to drive under-registration, particularly in rural areas.
“Most parents, especially in rural areas, fear bringing children with disabilities for assessment because of how the community will view them,” she said. “We are calling for advocacy and community sensitization to help people with disabilities get the support they need.”
She added that increased investment in personnel, equipment, and community health services is urgently needed.
“We need resources, including human resources and healthcare providers, to effectively support persons with disabilities,” Bwaso said. “We’ve made our recommendations to the NSDCC and hope they will help address gaps in healthcare, assistive technology, and empowerment.”
Discrimination and cultural stigma remain among the biggest hurdles.
“People still see those with disabilities as different,” she said. “They shouldn’t be discriminated against. These are just people—like anyone else.”
NSDCC Deputy Director for Health Metrics and Informatics, Joshua Gitonga, pledged that the community’s concerns would be reflected in the new strategy.
“We have not only listened but captured what you want to be included within the framework,” Gitonga said. “We will consolidate this input as we finalize the strategy.”
He also urged stakeholders to continue providing feedback through the council’s online platform.
