NAIROBI, Kenya — Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale today held a consultative meeting with the Benefits Package and Tariffs Advisory Panel to review progress in designing health benefit packages and setting fair, evidence-based tariffs for critical services under the Social Health Authority.
The SHA benefits review session, chaired by Prof. Walter Jaoko, focused on strengthening key pillars of Universal Health Coverage.
The panel plays a central role in improving service delivery under SHA, which forms the centrepiece of the government’s healthcare financing reforms.
Among the milestones highlighted during the SHA benefits review were progress in developing overseas treatment frameworks, strengthening primary healthcare systems, enhancing ambulance and referral networks, and reviewing the haemato-oncology package.
These elements are critical to advancing Kenya’s Taifa Care Model, which aims to provide equitable healthcare access nationwide.
SHA Benefits Review Implementation Measures
Discussions addressed practical measures to accelerate implementation, improve the quality of care, and align priority interventions based on lessons emerging from the SHA rollout.
The SHA benefits review comes amid public scrutiny of the authority’s operational challenges since its launch.
The Cabinet Secretary was briefed on the ongoing review of the Essential Benefits Package, expected to be finalised by October 1.
This deadline aims to expand access to affordable and equitable healthcare services across the country, giving the ministry six months to resolve outstanding policy and technical gaps.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Dr. Ouma Oluga, SHA CEO Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, and Digital Health Agency CEO Eng. Anthony Lenayara, Ministry technical teams, and representatives from the University of Nairobi’s Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis.
The SHA benefits review underscores the government’s push to deliver on its Universal Health Coverage commitments under the Big Four Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
