The government has reaffirmed its commitment to settling outstanding debts accumulated by the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) through the new Social Health Authority (SHA).

In his State of the Nation Address, President William Ruto announced that Ksh.3.7 billion would be disbursed on Friday to cover some of the payments owed to public, private, and faith-based health facilities. He emphasized that this payment is part of a broader effort to reduce the historical debts accumulated over the past decade, a move aimed at restoring confidence in the healthcare system following a difficult transition.


“Over the past month, we have released Ksh.5 billion to settle long-standing debts owed to various healthcare providers, some of which have been pending for over ten years. Another Ksh.3.7 billion will be disbursed tomorrow,” Ruto said. “This is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure uninterrupted healthcare services, and we will continue to clear the remaining balances in phases in the coming months, ensuring access to quality healthcare.”

These remarks come amid growing frustration from healthcare providers who have criticized the current administration for its delays in clearing debts amounting to billions. Recently, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops raised concerns over an unpaid Ksh.19 billion debt.

In response, Health Cabinet Secretary Debra Barasa defended the Ministry, stating that Ksh.7.58 billion has already been allocated to settle these debts. She also clarified that as of October 2024, this amount had been mobilized to clear some of the outstanding payments.


“As of October 4, 2024, the defunct NHIF owed Ksh.19 billion to various healthcare providers, accumulated over more than a decade. The government is committed to clearing these debts, and last month, Ksh.7.58 billion was mobilized to pay them,” Barasa explained.

The CS further noted that SHA had disbursed over Ksh.5 billion to various healthcare providers, including Ksh.938 million to faith-based facilities, the majority of which are Catholic-run institutions. SHA is expected to release the remaining Ksh.2.5 billion by next week.

“It’s important to note that the defunct NHIF had contracts with 8,886 facilities, including public, private, and faith-based organizations, with 312 faith-based institutions making up 3.5% of all contracted providers,” she added.