The Cabinet on Tuesday, September 17, approved changes to the Edu Afya Linda Mama programmes.
Members of cabinet in a session chaired by President William Ruto agreed that the Edu Afya will be broadened to encompass all school-going children.
This will extend beyond its current focus on secondary school students to include primary schools’ pupils and ECDEs.
“As Kenya transitions into the leagues of nations with universal health coverage, the scope of existing programmes such as Edu Afya will be broadened to encompass all school-going children, extending beyond its current focus on secondary school students,” read part of the Cabinet dispatch.
Ruto on Linda Mama Programme
At the same time, the Cabinet agreed Linda Mama Programme will be expanded to not only cover prenatal care but also provide comprehensive postnatal care, ensuring a holistic approach to maternal and child health.
“This expansion seeks to safeguard the well- being of both mother and child throughout the entire continuum of care,” the Cabinet said.
In that regard, the Cabinet urged all Kenyans to register under the new scheme through *147# or www.sha.go.ke.
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The Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) will cater to complications for both mothers and babies, including postnatal care, ICU, newborn ICU, and High Dependency Unit (HDU) services.
The government will be paying Ksh10,000 for any expectant woman giving birth through normal delivery and Ksh34,200 for women undergoing a caesarean section, as per the benefits package.
Antenatal and postnatal services will be covered on an outpatient basis at primary health care levels.
About Edu Afya Scheme
The Edu Afya has been in place since April 2018 and offered a comprehensive medical insurance cover for students enrolled in all public secondary schools registered with the National Educational Management Information System (NEMIS).
The scheme has helped in the diagnosis of previously undetected – and therefore untreated – chronic conditions that cause students to miss school regularly.
Through the cover, the government paid an annual premium of Ksh1,350 per student.
However, NHIF in December 2023 ended the Ksh.4.5 billion schools’ insurance scheme EduAfya, that left more than 3.4 million learners without a medical cover.
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Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KSSHA) Indimuli Kahi said school heads had equally proposed a raft of changes in the scheme.
Some of the proposals included the reduction of the Ksh.1,600 premium paid per student in a year saying it was too high.
According to the last report on the medical scheme in 2019, some 606,893 students sought medical attention between January and December of that year out of the 2.7 million students covered in the same period.
On August 16, Education PS Belio Kipsang said that Ministry of Health, State Department for Medical Services through the Social Health Authority has developed an enhanced benefit package for Edu Afya to be covered under SHIF.
In the new SHIF, Parents are required to register and add their children as dependents under the fund.
All registered students will continue to access Edu Afya health benefits under SHIF’s enhanced coverage.
The learners can register to the SHIF platform through the fund’s official website, afyaangu.go.ke or by using the USSD code *147#.
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