The majority of Kenyans are still dissatisfied with the Social Health Authority (SHA) services according to a latest report by the Rural Urban and Private Association Hospitals of Kenya (RUPHA).
According to the report, which was done during the second week of December 2024 in about 500 hospitals within the country, at least 67% of Kenyans have expressed discontentment with the SHA services, with only 47% of the facilities providing free outpatient services.
Most beneficiaries and service providers reported shortcomings in the functionality of the SHA portal.
“We found that sometimes patients wait for up to three hours before receiving their one-time PIN, and in the case of surgeries, it was even worse—sometimes taking up to 24 to 72 hours to get pre-authorization.
Majority of Kenyans are dissatisfied with SHA services
The delay in care is another reason why the sentiment around patient care has been so poor,” said Brian Lishenga, Chairman of KUPHA.
Regarding the functionality of the SHA portal, 78% of Kenyans experienced portal challenges, 52% experienced downtime, 56% faced OTP delays, and 35% encountered pre-authorization rejection issues.
RUPHA also raised serious concerns about the sharp decline in training adequacy, which dropped from 60% to 44%, indicating growing dissatisfaction.
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“It’s like constructing a house while living in it—when it rains, it rains on you. You have no power, no plumbing. The SHA portal itself is changing so fast, but training is not keeping up with the changes in the portal,” KUPHA Chairman further added.
The burden of costs was also cited in the report, with about 48% of Kenyans being forced to pay out of pocket, as some hospital facilities do not have the necessary supplies, consumables and drugs.
Since the rollout of SHA on October 1, which transitioned from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), it has received widespread criticism from the majority of Kenyans, including politicians, health practitioners, religious leaders, and other stakeholders.
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Wiper Party leader has, on numerous occasions, called on President William Ruto to disband SHA and revert to NHIF, stating that SHA services are not working.
His sentiments have been echoed by religious leaders, including the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), who emphasized the need for greater transparency and accountability in the SHA system to prevent mismanagement and corruption.
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However, despite the public outcry about the SHA services not functioning, President Ruto has consistently praised the SHA services.
He has assured Kenyans several times that SHA’s robust structure is designed to avoid the corruption issues that plagued the previous NHIF.
He has reiterated that SHA will provide value for money and improve healthcare services across the country, ensuring that even the poor will have easy access to its services.
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