Over 22 million Kenyans registered under Social Health Authority - PS Oluga

Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Ouma Oluga in a meeting with Health officials on May 13, 2025/Ministry of Health/X

More than 22 million Kenyans have registered under the Social Health Authority (SHA), according to Ouma Oluga, Principal Secretary for Medical Services.

He said the milestone marks significant progress in the government’s rollout of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

PS Oluga shared the update during a meeting of the Social Sector National Development Implementation Committee (NDIC) held in Nairobi.

The meeting was chaired by the Principal Secretary for Labour and Skills Development, Shadrack Mwadime.

PS Oluga noted that SHA’s digital systems are fully operational and are supporting efficient service delivery across the country.

"So far, healthcare providers have served 1.2 million Kenyans, with claims worth Sh45 billion already processed," he said.

“The Social Health Authority is changing the health financing landscape and cushioning Kenyans who would otherwise slide into poverty because of hospital bills,” Oluga added.

Health Cabinet Secretary Adan Duale in April, assured members of the National Assembly’s Committee on Delegated Legislation that the Social Health Authority (SHA) is now functioning effectively.

Duale gave the assurance when he appeared before the committee, chaired by Samuel Chepkong’a (Ainabkoi), to discuss two key digital health regulations.

"Like any new programme, SHA faced some initial challenges, which was expected. However, I can now confirm that the system is working and many Kenyans are benefiting while more others are registering every day," said Duale.

He told members of the House team that at least 5,000 Kenyans had registered with SHA by the morning of the meeting.

“We expect the number to rise to over 10,000 by the end of the day,” he added.

He was taken to task by the committee on the new regulations that are intended to establish an integrated digital healthcare system while safeguarding data privacy.

The proposed guidelines include the Digital Health (Health Information Management Procedures) Regulations, 2025, and the Digital Health (Data Exchange Component) Regulations, 2025.

According to the CS, to support the transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), the Ministry launched the USSD code *147# to ease registration and access.