NAIROBI, Kenya — Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has clarified that the Social Health Authority (SHA) has replaced the Linda Mama program with a more comprehensive initiative dubbed Linda Jamii, designed to extend healthcare access to entire households.
Duale said the Linda Jamii scheme broadens the scope of coverage to include not just maternal care but also general health services for spouses and children of vulnerable mothers. “This new program provides comprehensive coverage beyond just maternity care to include the entire household’s healthcare needs,” Duale stated.
Under the new framework, families will benefit from three distinct SHA-managed funds:
- The Primary Health Care (PHC) fund which focuses on preventive and community-level care.
- The Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), designed to support inpatient and outpatient medical services, and
- The Emergency, Chronic, and Critical Illness Fund (ECCIF) aims to cushion households against high-cost medical emergencies.
The shift aligns with the government’s implementation of the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023, which replaced the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and established the SHA as the central body for universal health coverage (UHC) delivery.
According to Duale, the introduction of Linda Jamii underscores President William Ruto’s UHC agenda, which seeks to ensure that every Kenyan family can access affordable, quality healthcare.
“It’s about protecting entire households, not just mothers,” he said, adding that the reform targets vulnerable populations and informal sector workers previously excluded from comprehensive insurance coverage.
Health policy experts have welcomed the move but urged transparency in enrollment and fund management to prevent bottlenecks that hampered NHIF’s performance.
The Linda Jamii program is expected to roll out nationally before the end of 2025, with county health facilities playing a central role in identifying and enrolling eligible families.
The reform marks a major milestone in Kenya’s UHC journey, aligning healthcare financing with constitutional provisions under Article 43, which guarantees every citizen the right to the highest attainable standard of health.
