The Church and the Healthcare Sector in Kenya: A Functional Analysis of Its Development through Evangelization

Abstract

The health sector in Kenya has grown rapidly. The corner stone of this growth was laid by the early Christian Missionaries who combined Evangelization with education and health. Thishistorical developmentled to the development and expansion of the healthcare system in Kenya by contributing to the building of a firm foundation upon which Kenya’s health care stands today. TheChurch’s education-health functional strategy cemented this milestone leading to the growth of a vibrant health care sector in Kenya. This has culminated in a well-coordinated ChurchGovernment partnership in the implementation of health programs. Today Kenya is the leading country in the East African region in the delivery of well-established and functional health care system. The Church’s pioneer efforts saw the healthcare in Kenya expand rapidly to all parts of the country thus playing a significant role in the healthcare market.The objective of this paper was therefore to explore the Church’scontribution to the development of healthcare sector in Kenya, to examine the functional role of an integrated and holistic approach to health care as a tool for the nurturing of Christian values and faith that support spiritual growth among people, to assess the sociological implicationsunderpinning the entire process of growth of health care through a Church-Government participatory partnership approach and how this approach has created a better society.Purposive sampling procedure was used to select four mainstream Churches that pioneered Evangelization in Kenya. Using qualitative approach, secondary data was obtained through face to face interviews with key informants from the four mainstream Churches.Data was transcribed and analysed qualitatively in for of themes. The findings show that the Church played a significant role in the development of health care in Kenya, they also show that the use of an integrated and holistic approach to health care was responsible for the evangelization and treatment of many Christians in Kenya and from a sociological perspective the findings show that the Church plays a significant role in unifying society. The study recommends that the Church should be supported through government policies to continue investing in the health care sector, other Churches in Kenya should adopt an integrated holistic approach to health care and the Church should strengthen its unifying role for the sake of a stable nation. The study will benefit the Church, policy makers and other stakeholders.