Tuesday, January 21, 2025 - President William Ruto’s Senior Economic Advisor, Moses Kuria, has defended the Social Health Authority (SHA) following the recent failures at Kenyatta National Hospital, saying it is one of the success stories of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
Speaking during an interview,
Kuria attributed the systemic SHA failure to a surge in the number of patients
seeking assistance at the facility.
“The numbers in our level 5
hospitals like KNH are right now overwhelming. People are really going to
facilities,” he said.
He further attributed this delay
to the government’s focus on Primary Healthcare Facilities.
“It’s true that our large
hospitals are facing problems as a lot of focus has gone into Primary
Healthcare Facilities; Levels 2, 3 and 4. This is a vote of confidence in our
system,” Kuria said.
According to Kuria, the rise in
SHA registrations compared to the previous National Health Insurance Fund
demonstrates public trust in the new system.
“NHIF at its peak had 15 million Kenyans, Where were the other 40 million? If you find them now coming it means something good is happening. I always say the nectar does not send an invitational letter to the bees, the bees just happen.
"A lot of people are
getting confidence because payments are being done and SHA is honouring the
payments that’s why people are coming to hospitals,” he said.
Last week, a group of patients
from KNH stormed Afya House and interrupted a press conference by Cabinet
Secretary for Health Deborah Barasa after SHA systems failed and they could not
be cleared for treatment.
The Kenyan DAILY POST.
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