Makueni launches Sh90m UHC coverage to support 200,000 residents

The Makueni government has launched a Sh90 million Universal Health Coverage programme to support at least 11,000 indigent households across the county.

The initiative, dubbed MutulaCare, builds on the Makueni Health Care model introduced by former Governor Kivutha Kibwana. It seeks to make healthcare financing more sustainable while expanding access to essential medical services for vulnerable residents.

The is being rolled out in phases and the eventual target is to benefit over 200,000 residents.

Health CEC Joyce Mutua officially launched MutulaCare at Wote County Referral Hospital on Tuesday.

The scheme is fully aligned with the national government’s Social Health Authority framework and follows months of successful piloting, after county cabinet approval of its operating guidelines in August 2025.

Mutua said the programme will cover 11,000 poor households out of the county’s estimated 250,000, with premiums for the Social Health Insurance Fund fully paid by the county government. This will allow beneficiaries to access treatment without out-of-pocket expenses.

Each ward has been allocated Sh3 million to support vulnerable residents, with Sh7,000 paid annually per household as insurance subscription.

“We are engaging in mass registration for the SHA programme across 390 grassroots clusters to identify indigent beneficiaries for this programme,” Mutua said.

The registration is linked to the Social Health Authority mass enlisting through the Afya Yangu platform and will update dependants’ records and verify eligible households.

Residents have been advised to carry their national IDs, mobile phones, and children’s birth certificates to facilitate smooth registration.

Health chief officer Harvey Mulei said enrolled residents will access inpatient services and free treatment in Level 1 to 4 health facilities, including specialised care such as dialysis and oncology services.

He dismissed claims that the county had scrapped the earlier Makueni Health Care model.

“There is a notion out there that we killed Makueni Health Care. That is far from the truth. We re-engineered it because it was not sustainable and could not effectively actualise referrals,” he said.