MPs Summon Health Officials Over Poor SHA Service Delivery
The National Assembly has given the Ministry of Health and officials from the Social Health Authority (SHA) two weeks to deliberate and submit a comprehensive report on the key difficulties facing the new healthcare system.
Moses Wetangula, Speaker of the National Assembly, made this statement during a mid-term retreat in Naivasha.
Wetangula directed the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Health, Robert Pukose, to meet with SHA representatives, with a report due to be presented to the House on February 11.
“I hereby direct the Chairperson, Hon. Robert Pukose, to obtain a transcribed Hansard report of all issues raised by Members of Parliament in this session and hold a meeting with the Ministry/SHA management next week,” Wetangula said.
During the retreat, MPs spoke out about the Social Health Authority’s multiple issues, which primarily included poor communication, insufficient budget, and unclear implementation frameworks.
MEMBERS ENGAGE THE CHAIRMAN, SOCIAL HEALTH AUTHORITY ON ITS IMPLEMENTATION
— National Assembly KE (@NAssemblyKE) January 30, 2025
MPs are currently engaging Dr. Abdi Mohamed, the Chairman of SHA & Health PS, Harry Kimutai on the status of implementation of the SHA, challenges being faced & the remedial measures being taken. pic.twitter.com/BlCjVwROf9
In recent weeks, the government has taken a multifaceted approach to increasing the number of Kenyans registered for SHA, also known as Taifa Care, and it appears to be working.
By January 22, the health ministry confirmed that at least 18 million Kenyans had registered with SHA.
However, a fresh problem that presented itself was the fact that despite the high registration numbers, a considerable percentage of the new entries were not remitting funds as required.
This, coupled with the mammoth Ksh29 billion debt owed to private hospitals by the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), has led to major challenges in service delivery under SHA.
While acknowledging the hurdles, SHA Acting CEO Robert Ingasira urged Members of Parliament to serve as goodwill ambassadors for the new healthcare system to increase its chances of success.
“I thank all the members who worked closely with us to increase the numbers, and now we stand at 22 million registered members under the program,” he said.
“There is still room to register more Kenyans. There are challenges, but we are working tirelessly to resolve them.”
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In a remarkable show of good faith, the Ministry of Health announced the withdrawal of trespass charges against Grace Njoki.
Ms Njoki and other angry patients made news on January 15 when they stormed Afya House to protest faults in the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) system.
The patients, some with children, disrupted a Ministry of Health media briefing headed by Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa and Director General of Health Patrick Amoth, which was intended to inform Kenyans on the status of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
On the final day of the session, Medical Services Principal Secretary Dr. Harry Kimtai urged lawmakers to continue efforts to increase enrollment in the SHA registration program.
MPs Summon Health Officials Over Poor SHA Service Delivery
