The Ministry of Health is calling on Kenyans to actively contribute to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) to ensure the sustainability of medical services.

Speaking at a weekly briefing outside Afya House, Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa and Director General of Health Dr. Patrick Amoth raised concerns about the financial struggles facing SHIF.

According to officials, despite high registration numbers, the primary challenge is the low number of contributors. Although 19.4 million Kenyans are registered under the Social Health Authority (SHA), only 3.3 million are actively making contributions.

Dr. Amoth emphasized that healthcare costs are high and should not be shouldered only by those in formal employment. He urged all registered members to complete their means-testing process, determine their premiums, and commit to regular payments.

To improve participation, counties have been encouraged to increase registration efforts, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, where numbers remain low.

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Regarding concerns over system glitches and tariffs, the Ministry has established the Benefits Package and Tariffs Advisory Panel at the University of Nairobi.

This expert-led panel, comprising health economics, epidemiology, actuarial science, and health sciences specialists, will evaluate and recommend better benefits packages for SHIF.

Since October 2024, over one million Kenyans have accessed primary healthcare services through SHA. Additionally, pre-authorization processing times have improved significantly—dropping from 10 hours to just 1 hour 15 minutes.

Currently, 56% of healthcare facilities (8,813 out of 17,755) are enrolled under SHA, and the Ministry is working to onboard more.