President William Ruto has declared that Kenya has reached a significant milestone in its pursuit of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), emphasizing transformative reforms aimed at broadening healthcare access and reducing treatment costs for millions of citizens.

Addressing the Kenya Health Summit at the Kenya International Conference Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Ruto underscored the constitutional guarantee under Article 43 that ensures every Kenyan’s right to the highest attainable standard of health and emergency medical care without discrimination based on ability to pay.

Transforming Healthcare Access

Ruto criticized the previous health system where families often had to sell assets or rely on community fundraising to afford medical treatment. He noted that in 2022, only about 25% of Kenyans had health insurance, with coverage among the poorest below 5%. To tackle this, the government introduced a new framework replacing the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) with the Social Health Authority (SHA), alongside initiatives targeting primary healthcare, emergency services, social health insurance, and digital health integration.

The reforms, branded as Taifa Care, aim to shift the focus from reactive care to prevention, early diagnosis, and timely treatment. Over 107,800 community health promoters have been mobilized to screen households, monitor vulnerable groups, and facilitate referrals, reaching more than nine million households and assisting over 750,000 people.

Funding and Impact

  • Sh27.4 billion allocated to the Primary Healthcare Fund, with Sh23.3 billion already disbursed, supporting over 20 million outpatient visits.
  • Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) has registered 32.3 million Kenyans, with 8 million receiving treatment.
  • More than 1.5 million mothers supported for safe deliveries and over 500,000 surgical procedures funded.

Ruto highlighted cases illustrating the reforms’ impact, including an 18-year-old student who underwent specialized surgery at Kenyatta National Hospital and a widow from Kisumu receiving cancer treatment, emphasizing the importance of financial protection against catastrophic health expenses.

Emergency Services and Supply Chain Improvements

The government has launched the SHA-922 Lifeline and National Ambulance Dispatch Centre to provide emergency care regardless of ability to pay, reinforcing the constitutional mandate that no one should be denied emergency treatment.

On the supply side, the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) has improved medicine availability from 40% to 91%, supported by a Sh1.5 billion recapitalization and a Sh10 billion credit line to strengthen procurement and distribution.

Digital Health and Future Challenges

Digitalization is a key pillar of the reforms, enhancing transparency by making patient records, treatments, and payments traceable to reduce fraud. Ruto acknowledged ongoing challenges, particularly with chronic illnesses, prompting the creation of the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund to provide additional support for long-term care.

He credited county governments, Parliament, healthcare workers, and stakeholders for their roles in advancing the reforms but stressed that the journey is ongoing. The next phase will focus on optimizing service delivery to benefit every patient and facility nationwide.

“Crossing this threshold does not mean the work is finished,” Ruto said. “The question now is how to make universal health coverage work better for all Kenyans.”