Source: nairobinews.nation.co.ke<\/p>\n
Intersex and transgender\u00a0population will get free medical services should a proposal by a task force formed by the Attorney General is adopted by the government.<\/p>\n
The report presented to the AG also says the government should give free medical insurance health\u00a0cover under the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to intersex persons.<\/p>\n
Sex reassignment surgery for intersex usually involves a series of operations that take place over several months or years. Patients can choose to have some or all of the surgeries.<\/p>\n
To comprehend the overall\u00a0transgender surgery cost, one must understand that \u2018sex reassignment\u2019 is a very\u00a0extensive process. The cost of a transgender person\u2019s transition can vary\u00a0widely, and pricing information is often not available.<\/p>\n
The services including the\u00a0fee include potential costs for anesthesia, hospital stay and each of the\u00a0potential surgeries that someone transitioning from one gender to the other.<\/p>\n
Most patients pay for the\u00a0surgeries from their pocket, it is very rare for insurance to cover the\u00a0procedures.<\/p>\n
THIRD GENDER<\/strong><\/p>\n However, if the recommendations are adopted, the government will\u00a0have to provide all the services.<\/p>\n However, the surgeries can\u00a0only be carried out in case of a medical emergency and this will be done\u00a0on informed consent by the government.<\/p>\n The task force, chaired by\u00a0Mbage Njuguna Ng\u2019ang\u2019a has recommended that the ministry of health will work\u00a0with other regulatory agencies towards the protection against unintentional\u00a0medical intervention and ensure effective remedy for persons otherwise\u00a0affected.<\/p>\n The term intersex\u00a0describes a person born with sex characteristics \u2013 genitalia, gonads, hormones\u00a0and chromosomes that do not match the typical male or typical female body. As\u00a0such, there has been a push for Kenya to create laws that recognise intersex as\u00a0the third gender.<\/p>\n According to the United\u00a0Nations, approximately 1.7 percent of newborn babies across the world can be\u00a0classified as intersex.<\/p>\n Based on the UNHCR Free\u00a0& Equal global campaign statistics, as per Kenya\u2019s current population of\u00a047,848,479 million, intersex persons can be estimated at between 23,925 and\u00a0813,425 nationally.<\/p>\n MEDICAL INTERVENTION<\/strong><\/p>\n The number of intersex\u00a0persons in Kenya has also been documented by the Child Rights International\u00a0Network (CRIN), which estimates that 20,000 of Kenyans alive are born intersex\u00a0though it is difficult to tell the number of intersex individuals in Kenya as many\u00a0seek anonymity due to stigma while some are unaware of their state.<\/p>\n It is not clear whether\u00a0the government will take care of medical interventions of about 20,000 intersex\u00a0Kenyans.<\/p>\n The Independent Policing\u00a0Oversight Authority (Ipoa) also wants intersex cells established in police\u00a0premises for their rights to be protected.<\/p>\n Ipoa commissioner Doreen Muthaura said the proposal to create these sections in cells and borstal\u00a0institutions was part of a task force report on the matter.<\/p>\n Commissioner Walter Ogony\u00a0said the move will help address cases of sodomy in police custody and incidents\u00a0of inmates tormenting each other.<\/p>\n \u201cThe confinement rooms\u00a0should also have cameras and be fitted with alarm bells so they can raise alarm\u00a0if in danger,\u201d Dr Ogony said during a breakfast meeting of the Ipoa and the\u00a0Kenya Editors Guild (KEG) at Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi.Transgender activist Audrey Mbugua outside Eldoret law courts on June 27, 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[1560,1558,1557,1559,434,166,564],"class_list":["post-1344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sex-reassignment","tag-nhif","tag-intersex","tag-medical-services","tag-national-health-insurance-fund","tag-sex-reassignment","tag-surgery","tag-transgender"],"yoast_head":"\n