Social Health Authority (SHA) has so
far approved more than Sh2.4 billion worth of claims for Nakuru County, Health
Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has said.
He said Nakuru County Teaching and
Referral Hospital was among facilities topping the SHA pay-out list with over
132,000 hospital visits.
Duale noted that out of 691 health
facilities across the populous county, 208 facilities were connected to the SHA
portal and were actively transacting.
However, the CS observed that SHA
registration was still low because slightly more than 841,000 individuals out
of a population of 2,162,202 people in Nakuru County have registered.
Speaking at the Nakuru County
Government Milimani Annex offices after holding a closed-door meeting with
senior health officials, he reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to ongoing
public education and county-level collaboration.
The CS officiated SHA and Taifa Care
roll-out in the county during which 1,140 tablets were distributed to
front-line health workers across Nakuru.
“With strong county partnerships,
SHA and TaifaCare rollout will succeed,” said Duale.
He was accompanied by SHA Chief
Executive Officer Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, her Digital Health Agency counterpart
Eng. Antony Lenaiyara and Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika among other senior health
officials.
Also present were MPs Irene Njoki
(Bahati), David Gikaria (Nakuru Town East), Samuel Arama (Nakuru Town West) and
Nakuru County Woman Rep Liza Chelule.
He added that citizens could
register, contribute, and access services digitally and through USSD via Taifa
Care, making healthcare accessible at the fingertips of every Kenyan.
“SHA and Taifa Care are not just
reforms, they are a declaration that every Kenyan deserves access to quality,
affordable and dignified health care regardless of their income or location,”
said the CS.
Duale commended Governor Kihika and
her team in the health department for the partnership and commitment to
transforming healthcare in the county.
He said plans were underway to
upgrade Nakuru County Regional Cancer Center through the National Equipment
Services Programme (NESP).
“The cancer center will be a
referral facility serving 24 counties,” he said.
Duale said the county would also
receive state-of-the-art medical equipment across key health facilities,
including CT scans in Molo and Bahati, and dialysis and mammography services at
Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital Annex.
The CS said other benefits of the
NESP included specialised laboratories, X-rays, ultrasounds, and theatres in
several sub-county hospitals.
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