President William Ruto has directed that all Nairobi Community Health Promoters (CHPs) be enrolled under the Social Health Authority (SHA), with the national and county governments sharing the cost of their medical insurance as part of efforts to strengthen primary healthcare and achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Speaking during a meeting with Nairobi CHPs at State House, Ruto instructed Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to transfer Sh319 million allocated for the programme to SHA to facilitate the medical cover for the promoters.
He said the national government will meet half of the insurance cost while Nairobi County will finance the remaining half.
"The national government will contribute half of the cost while the county government will pay the remaining half. This is a partnership that will ensure every community health promoter has health insurance," he said.
The President also challenged other counties to emulate Nairobi by providing SHA cover for their community health promoters and, where possible, extend the cover to their spouses, children, and families.
During the event, the Nairobi County Government presented a cheque worth Sh30,967,200 towards the SHA cover for CHPs. Ruto announced that the national government would match the county’s contribution with more than Sh30 million, ensuring the program is fully funded.
He further praised Nairobi’s CHPs for surpassing expectations in strengthening primary healthcare, noting that their work has significantly improved disease prevention and early detection across the county.
He said 810,590 households have been registered on the electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS), representing 54 per cent of Nairobi’s target.
The President said the county’s 7,680 community health promoters, each equipped with a health kit and a smartphone, have become the first line of defence against preventable diseases through household visits.
According to Ruto, CHPs have conducted 2.7 million diabetes screenings, identifying about 94,000 cases, while referring close to 300,000 people for further medical care. They have also carried out 2.1 million hypertension screenings, referred more than 50,000 patients, and conducted over 1.31 million screenings for malnutrition and pneumonia among children under five years.
"These are diseases being detected early. That is what prevention looks like when healthcare is delivered household by household," Ruto said.
He stressed that Kenya’s ambition of achieving universal health coverage would be realised through preventive healthcare delivered at the community level.
"UHC will not be won in hospitals. It will be won in households through our Community Health Promoters. That is why they are a strategic pillar of our primary healthcare system and our commitment to UHC," he said.
The President said that as SHA expands, community health promoters will continue educating residents, identifying illnesses early, referring patients for treatment, and strengthening preventive healthcare, helping reduce the country’s healthcare costs.
To further support their work, Ruto directed the Ministry of Health to provide all CHPs across the country with new health kits within the next 90 days. He also ordered the replacement of their smartphones to improve digital reporting, household registration, and disease surveillance.
He said investing in community health promoters through better equipment, digital tools, and comprehensive health insurance would strengthen Kenya’s primary healthcare system and accelerate the country’s journey towards UHC.
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