Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has lauded the ongoing
efforts to register Kenyans under the Social Health Authority (SHA), revealing
that 24.4 million people have already enrolled.
Speaking at King Fahad Hospital in Lamu County, Duale said
70,000 residents have registered in Lamu, with 21,000 enrolling on Thursday
alone.
“Across the country, Lamu ranks tenth, with Mombasa County
leading since the campaign began,” said Duale.
He noted that most Kenyans are voluntarily registering
without coercion, citing growing public confidence in the benefits offered by SHA.
“SHA is working. Those making negative remarks don’t know
what is going on. Here in Lamu, people have turned out and registered freely,”
he said.
The CS announced that King Fahad Hospital will be upgraded
to a Level 5 teaching and referral hospital to improve healthcare access in the
region.
“I’ve instructed that an inspection team visit next week so
that some of the 6,000 intern doctors we’ve recruited can be posted here,” he
added.
Duale said SHA is a more inclusive and efficient system than
the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), which he said served
only 20 out of every 100 employed Kenyans.
“SHA is far better than NHIF. It is already benefiting
millions with affordable and efficient healthcare,” he stated.
While in Lamu, Duale also commissioned several projects at
King Fahad Hospital, including a state-of-the-art oxygen plant and newly built
private wards.
The CS emphasized that the era of overcrowding hospital beds
to inflate claims is over. He specifically pointed at Kenyatta National
Hospital (KNH) in Nairobi.
“KNH has a capacity of 1,800 patients. That is the number
they should admit. If they want to admit more, let them buy more beds,” said
Duale.
“It is my responsibility to clean up the healthcare sector,
and I am ready to lose my job doing so. I’ve started today with KNH and that
culture of crowding beds and billing SHA must end,"he added.
Duale also highlighted SHA’s family-friendly coverage,
particularly beneficial for larger families.
“I’m happy—it’s like SHA was made for Muslims. It covers
four wives and an unlimited number of children, unlike NHIF which only covered
one wife,” he said.
He cited specific SHA benefits, noting that the system pays
Sh28,000 per night for ICU stays and covers childbirth for free, including up
to Sh30,000 for Caesarean sections.
On medical supplies, Duale said KEMSA (Kenya Medical
Supplies Authority) will soon start distributing drugs across all counties as
part of ongoing reforms to improve efficiency and accessibility.
SHA has rolled out a nationwide registration campaign as the
government pushes for universal healthcare access. The campaign has so far
covered counties like Migori and Kajiado, Lamu with plans to head to Taita
Taveta on Friday.
