Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale has highlighted significant progress in expanding access to affordable healthcare through innovative financing and strategic partnerships under the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Speaking during an interactive session with Members of the National Assembly in Naivasha, Duale underscored that the Lipa SHA Pole Pole initiative has emerged as a transformative financing innovation, enabling more Kenyans to access health insurance through flexible and affordable contributions.
“Since its rollout, the initiative has facilitated the enrolment of 411,011 Kenyans and mobilised Sh1.4 billion in contributions, effectively democratising access to health insurance and ensuring that income status is no longer a barrier to quality healthcare,” stated the CS.
The session further noted that the national government is currently sponsoring 558,000 indigent households under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), with an additional 62,461 households supported through the National Government–Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) and development partners.
In this regard, MPs were urged to strategically utilise NG-CDF allocations to sponsor vulnerable households within their constituencies, thereby accelerating progress towards universal health coverage.
To further expand access to quality and specialised care, Duale announced that the Ministry of Health outlined the formalisation of key public–private partnerships with leading health institutions.
“This includes an agreement with Roche, which has significantly reduced the cost of Herceptin to SHA rates, as well as partnerships with Aga Khan University Hospital and The Nairobi Hospital, enabling SHA beneficiaries to access specialised and tertiary services that were previously out of reach,” he highlighted.
The engagement reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening health financing, protecting vulnerable populations and leveraging partnerships to deliver equitable, affordable and high-quality healthcare for all Kenyans.
By Michael Omondi
