Newly appointed Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has outlined his primary objectives aimed at transforming the healthcare sector in the country.
Speaking on Tuesday when he officially took office at Afya House, Duale pledged to ensure the timely disbursement of funds to health facilities to enhance quality healthcare delivery.
A significant commitment made by the CS is the settlement of Social Health Authority (SHA) claims for hospitals, which he said will be cleared by the 14th day of every month.
This, as he called upon individuals and entities willing to support the less privileged to do so through the SHA Sponsorship Portal, noting that the agency is available for guidance.
He disclosed that as of March 2025, a total of Sh25.4 billion had been paid by the agency to empanelled and contracted health facilities.
Payment out of the Social Health Insurance Fund, he said, stood at Sh22.2 billion, while payments out of the Primary Healthcare Fund stood at Sh3.2 billion.
The CS also highlighted that a total of 20.8 million Kenyans have so far registered with the SHA, along with 5.7 million of their dependents.
The top five counties leading in registration, he said, are Mombasa, Bomet, Nyeri, Elgeyo Marakwet and Kirinyaga.
To address the long-standing human resource challenges within the Ministry, Duale committed to expediting the resolution of pending issues, including finalising Collective Bargaining Agreements with various unions.
“We are working tirelessly to finalise negotiations on the Collective Bargaining Agreements with the respective unions,” he said.
He also committed to ensuring that KEMSA's order fill rate goes up to 90 per cent.
To achieve this, recapitalisation of Sh1.5 billion to KEMSA is to be provided through the Supplementary Budget and negotiating for a credit facility of up to Sh5 billion.
The current order fill rate stands at 43 percent something he attributed to the fact that KEMSA is facing stock outs due to lack of finances to replenish Health Products and Technologies.
Effective April 1, 2025, he disclosed, ICU and HDU bed rebates have been enhanced to Sh28,000 per day, while the Oncology package for Cancer patients has been enhanced to Sh550,000 per person.
Duale also promised to address all system hitches to ensure seamless service delivery.
He said he will also introduce the Taifa Care Call Centre, a 24-hour service available through a toll-free number (147), which will be operational seven days a week to assist with inquiries and support.
