Kenya is using the ongoing 76th Session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for Africa (RC76) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to showcase its healthcare reforms and push for stronger, fairer and more sustainable health financing across the continent.
The high-level regional meeting, which brings together health ministers and senior officials from across Africa, is expected to conclude on August 28, with discussions focusing on key health priorities affecting the continent, including sustainable health financing, Universal Health Coverage (UHC), digital health, disease prevention and stronger regional cooperation.
Speaking to regional health ministers during the session, Kenya’s Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale highlighted the country’s transition from the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Authority (SHA), describing the reform as a major step towards building a more inclusive healthcare system.
Duale said the shift from NHIF is intended to address gaps in a system that was heavily dependent on formal employment and left many Kenyans without adequate health insurance coverage. The SHA model, he said, is designed to expand access to healthcare by bringing more people into a unified national health financing framework.
More than 32.3 million people have so far been registered under SHA, according to the CS, while more than Sh30 billion has been invested in primary healthcare. The investment has supported more than 20 million outpatient visits involving approximately 15 million people.
Duale also pointed to several other achievements linked to the ongoing reforms, including more than 1.2 million safe deliveries and about 500,000 surgical procedures. Through the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund, more than 50,000 cancer patients and nearly 21,000 patients requiring dialysis have also received support.
The government is also relying heavily on digital technology to improve the management and delivery of health services. Duale said the Digital Health Agency has connected 6,424 of the country’s 6,727 health facilities to digital systems, representing more than 95 per cent coverage nationwide.
The digital infrastructure is intended to make the healthcare system more efficient by simplifying processes such as patient registration, pre-authorization and the processing of medical claims. The government views the digital transformation as an important component of efforts to improve transparency, accountability and service delivery under SHA.
The reforms are being implemented as part of President William Ruto’s commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage, with the government seeking to ensure that access to essential healthcare is determined less by a person’s employment status or ability to pay and more by their healthcare needs.
At the Addis Ababa meeting, Duale also called for stronger cooperation among African countries, sustainable investment in healthcare and responsible adoption of technology. He urged governments and development partners to strengthen collaboration and explore practical financing models capable of supporting health systems over the long term.
The discussions come at a time when African countries continue to face significant pressure to expand healthcare access while dealing with limited resources, rising healthcare costs and the growing burden of chronic diseases. Sustainable financing remains central to efforts to strengthen health systems and reduce the financial burden of healthcare on individuals and families.
Duale is attending the regional meeting alongside Kenya’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, Ambassador Galma Boru, Director-General for Health Dr Patrick Amoth and other senior Ministry of Health officials.
As the WHO Regional Committee for Africa session moves towards its conclusion on August 28, Kenya is expected to continue using the forum to highlight its health financing reforms while engaging other African countries on strategies for accelerating progress towards Universal Health Coverage across the continent.
