The Community Health Workers Bill, 2022
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Establishment of the Community Health Workers Council
Section 3 establishes the Community Health Workers Council of Kenya as a corporate body headquartered in Nairobi. Under Section 5, the Council is tasked with:
- Assessing the qualifications of community health workers
- Ensuring maintenance of practice standards
- Establishing a professional code of conduct and supervising professional discipline
- Maintaining a register of all registered community health workers
Mandatory Registration and Qualifications
Section 22 establishes the qualifications required for registration as a community health worker. An applicant must:
- Have successfully completed a prescribed course of training at an approved training institution
- Have applied for registration in the prescribed form and paid the prescribed fees
- Have engaged in supervised training under a registered community health worker for at least one year (or a period prescribed by the Council)
- Be a fit and proper person to be registered
Disciplinary Committee and Penalties
Section 26 establishes the Community Health Workers Disciplinary Committee. Under Section 27, the Committee may order:
- Removal of a community health worker from the register
- Suspension of registration
- Imposition of a fine
Under Section 28(4), any community health worker who contravenes disciplinary provisions (such as failing to surrender their registration certificate within thirty days of deletion) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand shillings.
Twelve-Month Window for Existing Workers
Section 35 introduces transitional provisions for active workers. Within twelve months after the enactment of the Act, all persons currently performing the functions of a community health worker who have not undertaken the prescribed courses must undertake them to become eligible for registration.
Bill No.
National Assembly Bills No. 53 of 2022
Gazette No.
Supplement No. 183
Sponsor
Martin Peters Owino
Background
Community health workers play a vital role in Kenya's preventive healthcare system, particularly at Level 1, as recognized by the Health Act, 2017. Despite their significance, most of these workers operate as volunteers and lack formal recognition, standardised training, and statutory regulation. The Community Health Workers Bill, 2022 provides a statutory framework to professionalise, train, register, and regulate community health workers to ensure high standards of practice.
Key Amendments
Establishment of the Council
The Bill establishes the Community Health Workers Council of Kenya (Section 3). The Council consists of:
- The Director General of Health (or a designated representative)
- The Head of Primary Healthcare from the ministry of health
- The Director of Education (or a designated representative)
- One representative nominated by the Non-Governmental Organisation Coordination Board
- One registered community health nurse nominated by the Nursing Council of Kenya
- One community health lecturer nominated by the Kenya Medical Training College
- One community health worker nominated by the Cabinet Secretary
- One community health worker nominated by the Council of County Governors
- The Registrar as an ex officio member
Registration and the Register
Section 17 provides for the appointment of a Registrar through a competitive process. The Registrar is tasked with receiving registration applications, advising the Council on professional matters, maintaining the register, and publishing the list of registered community health workers in the Gazette by 31st March each year (Section 19).
New Obligations
Qualification Requirements
To be registered, candidates must complete one of the prescribed courses outlined in the Second Schedule, which include certificates in:
- Community Health
- Psychology
- Counselling
- Social Work
- Community HIV Counselling and Testing
- Immunization
- Community Development
- Health Education (or equivalents from a recognized institution)
Additionally, registered workers must complete at least one year of supervised training under a registered community health worker.
Penalties
- Failure to Surrender Certificate: Under Section 24 and Section 28(3), a person whose name is deleted from the register must surrender their certificate to the Council within thirty days. Failure to do so constitutes an offence liable to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand shillings (Section 28(4)).
- Financial Mismanagement: The Council's accounts must be audited in compliance with the Public Audit Act, No. 34 of 2015 (Section 32(3)). Under the First Schedule (Section 2(3)), any Council member who fails to disclose a conflict of interest in any contract or matter before the Council commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings, or both.
Transitional Provisions
Section 35 provides a transitional timeline of twelve months from the date of enactment. Within this period, any person currently practicing as a community health worker who has not undertaken the courses prescribed in the Second Schedule must complete the training to be eligible for registration.
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