Unlocking the future potential for Kenya through vision 2030: Overview of the Contribution of Human Resource for

Health (HRH).
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Cherutich R.K. : MPH, BScN, KRCHN

Kenyatta National Hospital, National Referral and Teaching Hospital, Nairobi Kenya.

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology, Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Nairobi, Kenya.
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Kenya Medical Research Institute, Centre for Public Health Research and The Epidemiology, Public Health & Health Systems Research Programme, Nairobi, Kenya. Abstract Kenya vision 2030 is the countrys development blue print which aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, middle-income country providing a high quality life to all its citizens by the year 2030. The vision is based on three pillars: the economic, the social and the political. Social pillar is the pillar which touches on health systems. As the country makes progress to middle-income status through these development plans, it is expected to have met its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) whose deadline is 2015. The goals which touch on health outcomes and which are deemed to drive the country to a middle income country include; reducing infant and under-five mortality by two-thirds; reducing maternal mortality by three-fourths; halting and reversing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria epidemics; and reducing by half the proportion of people suffering from hunger. The role of the nurse in these include heightening the risk associated with absenting the child from immunization and the importance of immunization, encouraging parents to come for antenatal and postnatal care, encouraging mothers to register when pregnant and report their ill health early in hospital and educating the public on the need of knowing ones HIV status. Human resource for health (HRH) plays a major role in all these and is the integral part of the health system linked with health services provision and performance of health service providers in a relationship of mutual dependence. Despite this, the crucial role of HRH in health systems has not been fully appreciated. Consistent shortages of suitable health personnel have been experienced as one of the major constraints and challenges in not accomplishing these roles. The worst hit discipline in shortage is seen in nursing. This has been noted and may impinge on the speed of achieving the vision 2030. It is necessary that the