Kenyan Teacher Stranded In India As SHA Fails Payout Abroad
The new Social Health Authority (SHA) implementation has left a Baringo Central teacher with acute myeloid leukaemia trapped in India for the past three months while she waits for health coverage.
Her critical need for a bone marrow transplant, estimated at Ksh5 million, has been exacerbated by SHA’s continued onboarding of international hospitals and its Ksh500,000 payout cap.
This has forced her to rely on personal resources while the approval process continues.
According to the husband, they thought that switching from a teacher’s medical plan supplied by a local company would stop their nightmare.
SHA: Patients stuck in India
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) February 13, 2026
A Kenyan teacher is stranded in an Indian hospital
Grace Chepyegon, is battling acute myeloid leukemia
Family says Chepyegon has been in the hospital for 3 months
Chepyegon needs Ksh.5M to undergo bone marrow transplant #CitizenFridayNight pic.twitter.com/AMspi67R2l
Nonetheless, they spent all of the money they were granted.
Her family claims to have already spent an additional Ksh5 million on chemotherapy, travel, and preliminary medical treatments.
Attempts to reach SHA officials were futile, as the agency stated that the accreditation procedure for international hospitals is still ongoing.
According to SHA CEO Dr Mercy Mwangangi, the system is currently paralyzed due to the onboarding process, but it is being expedited by the authorities.
“Submissions from the hospitals and extending contracts, this process should be concluded by the end of February,” she stated.
Hospitals in India and Turkey are currently demanding upfront payments from Kenyan patients due to prior unpaid claims, preventing them from receiving timely care.
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SHA foreign insurance funds transplants such as liver, bone marrow, pediatric kidney, and laryngeal (voice box) transplants.
Major surgeries, including complex congenital heart operations, open-heart surgeries requiring life support, and specialised nerve treatments, advanced cancer treatments like bone marrow transplants for blood cancers, specialised radiation therapy, and immune cell therapies.
The family friends are currently urging the government to fast-track the process and increase the amount from the capped Ksh 500,000.
SHA is currently grappling with a Sh116 billion funding deficit, low compliance rates of around 18 per cent
Kenyan Teacher Stranded In India As SHA Fails Payout Abroad
