President William Ruto has urged Kenyans to register with the Social Health Authority (SHA) before criticizing its functionality.
Speaking in Kericho on Sunday, Ruto emphasized the importance of universal health coverage, urging Kenyans to prioritize registration to ensure access to quality healthcare.
"Health is a right for every Kenyan," Ruto said, acknowledging criticism to the SHA while reaffirming the government's commitment to making it effective.
"Don't wait until you are sick because we are all candidates for sickness. Now, you as a Kenyan haven't registered for SHA, but you are complaining it is not working. How do you know it is not working if you haven't registered in the first place?" Ruto asked.
"Before you complain about it, first register yourself and your family so that your complaints are valid."
President Ruto noted that the government will settle all health claims made under SHA in October within a week, an indication of the system's efficiency which he attributed to the Digital Health Act.
He explained that clearing pending claims would ensure medical facilities could provide quality healthcare, a key challenge in the SHA rollout in many counties.
Settling SHA claims
Ruto also announced that the government would release an additional Sh2.5 billion within the last week of November to pay debts owed to hospitals and service providers by the now-defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
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He spoke even as the Ministry of Health intensified efforts to promote the new health plan by engaging places of worship to encourage registration.
Public Health and Professional Standards Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni joined Christian congregations in Nairobi on Saturday, highlighting the benefits of the SHA and advocating for a preventive approach to health rather than a curative one.
"We need to come together as a country to address the health challenges we face. We are fully aware of the issues in the system. Sometimes uploading dependents is a problem, and occasionally people visit hospitals that are not contracted by SHA," Muthoni said.
She acknowledged the "teething problems" with the SHA, noting that such challenges are expected and serve as valuable feedback to improve the system.
She emphasized that SHA offers greater benefits compared to the defunct NHIF.
As of November 20, a total of 14.8 million Kenyans had registered with the SHA, including 8 million new registrations.
