NAIROBI, Kenya — The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) has called on the Social Health Authority (SHA) to urgently release funds owed to hospitals, warning that continued delays are crippling service delivery and undermining the government’s promise of universal healthcare.
Speaking at a press conference in Nairobi on Thursday, Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit said the mounting debt owed by the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and SHA to private health facilities had already forced some hospitals to suspend services, leaving patients stranded.
“We demand with Kenyans that SHA put her house in order and prioritize payments of funds owed to all hospitals to enable them to continue to offer services,” Ole Sapit said.
The cleric cautioned that unless the authority addressed inefficiencies and unpaid claims, the health reforms spearheaded by the government risked collapsing.
He further urged SHA to embrace transparency and accountability to restore public confidence in the restructured system.
Beyond health, the Archbishop also raised concerns over what he described as a worsening crisis in Kenya’s education sector.
He cited delayed release of government capitation funds, the rising cost of learning, and perennial lecturers’ strikes as major obstacles to access and quality.
According to him, more than 42,000 qualified students failed to apply for university placement this year, a situation he linked to the affordability crisis facing families.
“The crisis in the education sector cannot just be wished away. Delayed capitation, coupled with an unaffordable education system, is putting learning beyond the reach of many. We call upon the government to release on time school and university capitation to enable these institutions to run smoothly,” he said.
Ole Sapit also decried repeated lecturers’ strikes in public universities, noting that they compromise academic standards while wasting parents’ money and students’ time.
He challenged the government to find a lasting solution to lecturers’ grievances to end the cycle of industrial unrest.
On the political front, the ACK leader urged sobriety among politicians, cautioning them against launching premature campaigns ahead of the 2027 general election.
“Whereas it is a democratic right for parties to campaign, we urge political leaders to focus more on service delivery and spare the nation from early campaigns,” Ole Sapit said.
