Ministry of Health gazettes list of 36 medical services unavailable in Kenya
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the list was compiled in consultation with relevant stakeholders under the Social Health Insurance Regulations.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has published a gazette notice detailing 36 medical services currently unavailable in Kenya, highlighting critical gaps in the country’s healthcare system.
The notice attributes these gaps to inadequate infrastructure, a shortage of specialised professionals, and the absence of legal or regulatory frameworks necessary for complex procedures.
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Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the list was compiled in consultation with relevant stakeholders under the Social Health Insurance Regulations.
“Pursuant to the provisions of Regulation 39 (1) (b) and Regulation 49 (1) and (2) of the Social Health Insurance Regulations, 2024, the CS for Health, in consultation with the Social Health
Authority and on the recommendation of the Benefits Package and Tariffs Advisory Panel (BPTAP), gives notice to the public of the list of healthcare services not available in Kenya,” the notice read.
Many of the services involve highly specialised joint and limb replacement procedures, including wrist, metacarpal and ankle joint arthroplasty, whole, proximal and distal femoral replacements, and proximal tibial replacement.
The Ministry explained that Kenya lacks dedicated joint replacement centres, mega-prostheses, advanced implants, and the necessary training to perform these surgeries. The use of allografts is also unavailable because the country does not have a national bone bank.
The gazette further highlighted the missing complex transplant and paediatric services. These include paediatric liver and kidney transplants, bone marrow transplants, and laryngeal transplants.
The Ministry said these gaps result from underdeveloped paediatric nephrology services, the absence of dedicated transplant units, and the lack of a legal framework for certain transplant types.
Significant gaps were also noted in intrauterine and foetal interventions. Procedures such as intrauterine blood transfusion, shunt placement for bladder outlet obstruction, vesicocentesis, thoracentesis, paracentesis, fetoscopy, amniotic band ligation, laser ablation, amnioreduction, amnioinfusion, foetal reduction, cord occlusion, and cordocentesis are not available.
“This is because Kenya has no foetal therapy centres, no interventional radiology capacity in maternal-foetal settings and lacks the highly trained specialists and equipment needed to carry out such delicate procedures,” the ministry said.
Advanced cancer diagnostics and treatment options are also missing. These include Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (Lutetium-177), DOTA-TATE scans, Fibroblast Activation Protein Inhibitor PET/CT imaging, microwave ablation of metastatic tumours, Yttrium-90 radioembolization, and Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy.
The Ministry noted that this is due to the absence of licensed radiopharmaceutical handling units, specialist nuclear medicine infrastructure, and regulatory pathways for advanced immunotherapies.
Specialised neurological and regenerative treatments remain unavailable as well.
Services such as sacral neuromodulation for urinary and faecal incontinence, surgical management of birth-related brachial plexus injuries, photopheresis, nerve ablation therapy, neural regenerative therapy, and proton therapy are not offered.
The notice explained this is due to the lack of neurophysiology equipment, trained personnel, and the high costs of advanced technologies such as proton beam facilities.
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