NAIROBI, Kenya, June 22 – Samburu County has improved its rating within the nationwide Social Health Authority (SHA) registration standings, rising from final place to place 44 out of 47 counties, in accordance with newly launched knowledge.
The shift follows intensified registration efforts beneath the federal government’s TaifaCare Universal Health Coverage framework, which goals to ship extra accessible and inexpensive healthcare via three funding mechanisms: the Primary Healthcare Fund, the Emergency, Chronic, and Critical Illnesses Fund, and the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Samburu West Member of Parliament Naisula Lesuuda, talking throughout a current registration marketing campaign within the county, described the earlier rating as “unacceptable” and mentioned it prompted renewed mobilization throughout the area. “We now have roughly 54,000 individuals registered. It is a notable enchancment, however we purpose for full protection,” she mentioned.
Lesuuda pointed to the broader budgetary context, citing allocations within the 2025/2026 monetary yr of Sh13.1 billion for major healthcare and Sh8 billion for emergency and persistent care. She emphasised that such assets would stay underutilized in areas with low enrolment.
Comparatively, counties similar to Nyeri and Mombasa have reported increased uptake charges. Samburu officers say they intend to check and adapt methods utilized in these counties to enhance native registration and entry. Lesuuda famous the symbolic goal of transferring to place 25, which additionally matches the county’s code quantity.
The preliminary registration push will think about wards throughout the Samburu West constituency earlier than increasing countywide. The SHA registration course of consists of means testing and a month-to-month contribution, after which providers develop into instantly accessible—not like the previous National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) system, which frequently included a ready interval.
The SHA scheme covers providers starting from routine outpatient care to extra complicated therapies similar to dialysis, chemotherapy, and surgical procedure, aiming to scale back the monetary burden on households managing persistent situations.
Officials say the effectiveness of the brand new system will rely closely on public consciousness and sustained registration drives, significantly in low-ranking counties similar to Samburu.
