Once again I feel compelled to emphasise the need for Kenyan media houses to balance their reportage. Again, it all has to do with enabling the audience to see the complete picture. If you are comparing provision of public healthcare between Kenya and the UK, e.g., don't just dwell on the strengths of the National Health Service, as if blind to its renowned failures.
Granted, many Kenyans would appreciate a comparison of a working national social healthcare system, for them to get an understanding of what the NHIF plan to roll out the same locally, would be like. And there is definitely nothing wrong with highlighting the organisational or structural components of the NHS.
But I feel it would have been equally important to point out weaknesses or challenges that NHS has had to contend with. These are well documented, like the latest report, which suggests that, 'NHS failings lead to deaths of 24,000 diabetics each year.'
As a matter of fact, there's a webpage that has plenty of links in a, 'List of articles chronicling the failures of the NHS and other socialised medical systems.'
Incorporating some of the negatives of NHS, in NTV's presentation, would have added immense value to the local debate and unfolding scandal, as the NHIF, which is Kenya's equivalent to the UK's public health insurance provider, seeks to implement a social medical scheme.
It would have made it plain to see that no system is perfect, when it comes to deliverables, and that after dealing with the issues associated with 'corrupted' public tendering processes locally, the problems would be far from over.
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