President Ruto defends SHA, says it has outperformed NHIF

President William Ruto has defended the Social Health Authority (SHA), claiming the new health insurance system has outperformed the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), as he dismissed calls to revive the former healthcare financing model.

Speaking during an engagement with Nairobi Community Health Promoters at State House, Nairobi, President Ruto said SHA had expanded healthcare coverage and increased funding to health facilities compared to the previous NHIF system.

The President said SHA has registered about 32 million Kenyans, compared to approximately eight million people who were enrolled under NHIF, arguing that the new system had significantly widened access to health insurance.

“People are telling us to go back to the one that had eight million people. Today we have 32 million people who have registered with SHA,” Ruto said.

He further claimed that SHA is disbursing more funds to health facilities, saying the authority now pays an average of Sh12 billion every month compared to Sh5.6 billion every three months under the former NHIF.

“We have changed our health system. Today SHA is performing ten times more than NHIF was performing,” Ruto said.

Ruto said the increased funding had improved the financial position of public hospitals, allowing health facilities to receive more resources directly under the new healthcare financing model.

He cited Riruta Hospital in Nairobi as an example, saying the facility previously received about Sh200,000 monthly under NHIF but is now receiving more than Sh6 million through SHA.

The President said the reforms were aimed at transforming Kenya’s healthcare system by expanding access to medical cover, improving hospital financing and strengthening primary healthcare services.

He also highlighted the role of Community Health Promoters in the new healthcare framework, saying the government had invested in their training, stipends, medical kits and digital tools to enable them to provide services at the household level.

Ruto criticised political leaders who have pledged to abolish SHA and reinstate NHIF, challenging them to provide alternative policies instead of promising to reverse government programmes.