President William Ruto has appealed to political leaders to preserve Kenya’s ongoing health reforms, cautioning against dismantling the Social Health Authority (SHA) without a concrete replacement strategy. He made these remarks during the Kenya Health Summit held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi.
Addressing calls from some opposition figures to scrap the SHA and revert to the old National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) system, Ruto stressed that healthcare rights should transcend changes in government. He argued that reforms should be improved and refined rather than abandoned.
Health Reforms as a National Covenant
According to the President, universal health coverage (UHC) must become a permanent national commitment, independent of political administrations. He said, "Governments will change, but a Kenyan’s right to healthcare cannot change with them." Ruto linked the protection of health reforms to the National Development Charter, ensuring future generations build on current progress.
Progress and Areas for Improvement
Since October 2024, over 32 million Kenyans have registered with the SHA. The scheme has facilitated treatment for eight million people, supported more than 1.2 million safe deliveries, and covered over 500,000 surgeries nationwide. Financially, the SHA has collected upwards of Sh209 billion and disbursed over Sh178 billion to health facilities across all counties.
Despite these achievements, Ruto acknowledged challenges remain, including simplifying registration, clarifying benefits, speeding up claims processing, enhancing digital systems, and ensuring consistent quality of care.
Summit as a Platform for Inclusive Dialogue
The Kenya Health Summit brings together stakeholders from national and county governments, Parliament, development partners, private sector, civil society, healthcare professionals, and communities. The President highlighted the summit’s role in assessing progress and identifying ways to strengthen the health system.
He emphasized that health reforms are ongoing and should be integrated into Kenya’s broader development agenda beyond Vision 2030. "Let us strengthen what we have built, improve what can work better, and safeguard for generations what Kenyans themselves have made possible," Ruto said.
