Protect Kenyans from NCDs – Upper Eastern Region
Press Statement
Preamble
Delegates from the NCCK Member Churches in Isiolo, Marsabit, Meru and Tharaka Nithi Counties, which comprise the Upper Eastern Region, have met here at Gitoro Pastoral Center on 10th and 11th April 2025 to reflect on the growing threat of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). The forum was inspired by the scripture recorded in Psalm 82: 3 – 4
Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy, deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Further, the leaders took to hear the words of our National Anthem:
Let all with one accord, In common bond united, Build this our nation together
And the glory of Kenya, The fruit of our labour, Fill every heart with thanksgiving
1. The Enemy Called Non Communicable Diseases
Non Communicable Diseases are now an epidemic in Kenya. With a prevalence rate of 27%, NCDs are now the most threatening disease condition in Kenya. They account for 39% of deaths in the country, and are responsible for 50% of all cases of hospitalization. The financial burden of these conditions is equally huge, with a patient with just one NCD condition spending more than KShs 150,000 per year on outpatient care alone.
It is indeed a major concern that the government promised only KShs 8 billion to finance the National Strategy on Non Communicable Diseases (2022 – 2026) against a budget of KShs 377 billion. This is a gross disdain of the suffering and deaths of Kenyans living with NCDs, and we appeal for immediate increase of the funding allocated to the anti-NCD campaign.
2. Promote Joint Efforts to Combat NCDs
In Kenya today, there is no family that does not have one or more members suffering from either diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart disease or another non communicable condition. These conditions are devastating and impoverishing families as they take away the meagre savings to pay for healthcare. We call upon the Ministry of Health to spearhead a national campaign to deal with the threat posed by the Non Communicable Diseases. We especially recommend the following measures.
a) Declare NCDs a National Emergency
Recognizing the damage caused by Non Communicable Diseases across the country, we strongly recommend that the Ministry of Health declares NCDs a national emergency so as to mobilize maximum government and stakeholder focus and resources to curtail the conditions. We remind all that in the past, the government has spearheaded massive campaigns to address disease conditions when they reached threatening prevalence rates. Examples include malaria which reached a prevalence rate of 27% in 2010, HIV and AIDS peaked at 10% in the late 1990s, and diarrheal diseases have only ever reached a maximum of 20%. In each case, the government mobilized the nation and international resources to deal with the conditions.
At a prevalence rate of 27%, we assert that Non Communicable Diseases warrant immediate and intensified attention to stop the rapid increase.
b) Introduce Front of Pack Warning Labels
We call for immediate enactment of laws and policies to require all food producers to include Front of Pack Warning Labels to indicate if the product is high in sugar, sodium or saturated fat. The warning labels should be of the same colour and size for consistency. This is in recognition that the rise in prevalence of Non Communicable Diseases is a direct result of increase in consumption of foods that contain high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fats. Let us all take to heart the warning God gave in Deuteronomy 14: 3 – Do not eat any detestable thing, which for us are the foods that cause diseases.
In the meantime, we heartily commend the Ministry of Health for completing the development and adoption of the Nutrient Profile Model. We urge the regulatory bodies, including the Kenya Bureau of Standards as well as the Competition Authority of Kenya, to apply the Nutrient Profile Model to protect consumers in Kenya.
c) Regulate Child-Targeted Marketing of Unhealthy Foods
The rapid increase in number of children diagnosed with Non Communicable Diseases is a major concern, and we need a nationwide campaign to stop the trend. We thus strongly urge the national and county governments to put in place policy measures to regulate child-targeted advertisement of foods that are high in sugar, salt and saturated fats. Adverts for such foods should not be made during the watershed hours when children are consuming media, and also not be placed in places frequented by children. Further, the use of children and child-like characters in advertisement of unhealthy foods must be stopped.
d) Educate Kenyans on Nutrition
The Bible in Acts 15: 29 tells us
You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.
We therefore find that God is very interested in what people eat, and readily points out what is not healthy for consumption. We plead with all stakeholders to use their platforms and systems to educate the people of Kenya on good nutrition before we lose our nation to preventable diseases. Of special request is that the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development and the Kenya National Examination Council include nutrition as part of the syllabus.
On our part, we have committed to partner with the nutritionists in our churches to educate congregants and communities on healthy living.
3. Stop Sacrificing Healthcare
It is a very saddening reality that the healthcare of Kenyans was sacrificed on the altar of profit when we transitioned from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), which has now been renamed Taifacare. The benefits subscribers of NHIF received when seeking health services were much more meaningful than what is being offered under Taifacare, despite the premiums being higher. The result is that Kenyans who are unable to pay for healthcare from their pockets are dying unnecessarily.
We call upon the Ministry of Health and the Social Health Authority to urgently reform the Taifacare to make it meaningful, or else revert to the NHIF. The suffering of the masses must stop.
4. End Early Campaigns and Focus on Service Delivery
We are appalled and disappointed that elected and nominated leaders have abdicated their responsibilities and are instead focused on early campaigns for 2027. Further, public resources are being plundered as responsibility holders try to amass money for campaigns and selfish uses.
This trend must stop, and we demand that all political actors stop the early campaigns and focus on service delivery.
5. Protecting the Altar
On our part, we have committed to stop the trend that was emerging in which politicians were turning church worship services into political rallies. We call upon our fellow clergy to adhere to the guidelines issued by the NCCK Executive Committee, which in part state as follows:
One, any political actor who attends a worship service is to be treated the same as all other worshippers, and should not get any special treatment
Two, all monetary contributions should be treated as offerings and shall not be announced
Three, no political leader is to be allowed to address congregants inside the church, and should instead speak to them outside the church building after the service
Four, church leaders will not announce preference for any political leaders or parties and will instead remain objective and non – partisan
Let us protect the space where God meets with His people from political pollution.
6. Conclusion
We conclude by reminding ourselves and all others that healthy living is important in God’s eyes. He indeed declared in 1 Corinthians 3: 16 – 17
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him, for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
Let us all recognize that if we destroy our bodies with unhealthy foods, God will allow us to suffer all manners of diseases. It is important that as a nation we take measures to protect people from unhealthy foods so as to protect them from Non Communicable Diseases.
May God bless this our nation now and always. We wish you all a blessed and Christ-filled Easter.
Signed on this 11th day of April 2025 at Gitoro Pastoral Center, Meru.
Rev James Kimathi Nyaga
Vice Chairman, NCCK Upper Eastern
