August 2^nd 2018                                 By Cheruiyot Korir

The government will deploy technology to increase National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) enrolment and enable citizens access to affordable universal health care, Cabinet Secretary for ICT Joe Mucheru has said.

Mr Mucheru said, out of over 40 million citizens, only 6 million Kenyans were registered with the Fund pointing out that plans are underway to provide universal health coverage in the country in the next five years.

Speaking at the Africa Annual Consumer Experience Conference held at a Nairobi Hotel, Mr Mucheru said the government will soon roll out biometric registration of all citizens to establish a single identifier for Kenyans that will enable them access affordable health services.

The Cabinet Secretary added that the exercise will also involve registration of all farmers in the country, enabling the government to develop a database for the farmers, their land holdings, their farm products and market information.

Mr Mucheru said the government’s Big Four Agenda provided immense opportunities for investment in technological innovations that promote efficiency and production.

Former Kenya Wildlife Services Director, Dr Julius Kipngetich said technology has caused disruption in the lives of citizens, a situation that demands that service providers re-align their mode of delivery to meet the constantly changing consumer preferences.

Mr Kipngetich said, it was important for organizations to change tact in order to effectively serve the dynamic interests of consumers who are knowledgeable and have various options. He said if organizations fail to respond to changing consumer needs, they are likely to lose business.