Duale and Governors Set 14 October Deadline for SHA Facility Contracts
Cabinet Secretary for Health Hon. Aden Duale and the Council of Governors (CoG) Health Committee have agreed that current Social Health Authority (SHA) contracts, extended to , will not be extended further.
The agreement was reached during a meeting with the committee, led by its Chairperson and Mombasa Governor, H.E. Abdulswamad Nassir. SHA, the Digital Health Agency (DHA), health-sector regulators and other stakeholders attended to discuss implementation of the SHA 2026–2029 contracting cycle, HAKIKA, and emerging health-sector challenges.
The National and County Governments reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring eligible public health facilities complete contracting on time and continue providing quality, accessible and uninterrupted services to beneficiaries.
SHA will establish HAKIKA contracting clinics in every county through 14 October and provide weekly progress updates to the CoG until all eligible facilities are contracted. A Joint Technical Committee comprising representatives from SHA, the CoG and County Health Departments will coordinate implementation and address technical and operational challenges.
Each county health facility will retain an individual contract with SHA, with payments continuing to its respective Facility Improvement Financing account. To help reduce delays, SHA will accept relevant documentation held at county level as part of the contracting process.
Facilities that meet all other contracting requirements will be given 30 days to submit outstanding documentation for the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), fire safety, National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) and Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC). This conditional period does not exempt facilities from their statutory compliance obligations.
Relevant laboratory, pharmacy and imaging licences issued by the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board (KMLTTB), the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) and the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KENRA) remain mandatory. Facilities will be contracted only for services for which they are duly licensed. Level 4 and Level 5 facilities will have three months to meet compulsory laboratory licensing requirements.
On claims management, stakeholders agreed that clean claims will be paid within 90 days of receipt and in the order received. Where available funds are insufficient, unpaid clean claims will be recognised as certified liabilities and carried forward for settlement within the same financial year, subject to appropriated funds.
Discussions also covered digital health, data protection, the security of county health information and the rollout of the PPB track-and-trace system. The CoG committed to supporting Level 5 hospitals to complete their transition to the Health Management Information System (HMIS) by . SHA will meet County Executive Committee Members for Health on 6 October to strengthen coordination and accelerate implementation of HAKIKA across the counties.
The meeting concluded with the signing of a Joint Communiqué on the contracting of county public health facilities under the SHA 2026–2029 cycle. The communiqué sets out the shared commitment of the National and County Governments, SHA, regulators and other stakeholders to strengthen accountability, improve service delivery and ensure eligible county facilities can serve SHA beneficiaries.
Those in attendance included Director-General for Health Dr. Patrick Amoth; SHA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mercy Mwangangi; CoG County Executive Committee Caucus Chairperson and Kisumu County Executive Committee Member for Health Dr. Gregory Ganda; PPB Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ahmed Mohamed; Clinical Officers Council Chief Executive Officer Mr. Ibrahim Wako; KENRA Director-General Mr. James Keter; DHA Chief Executive Officer Eng. Anthony Lenayara; Nairobi County Executive Committee Member for Health Ms. Suzanne Silantoi; KMLTTB Quality Assurance Officer Mr. Raphael Gikera; National Cancer Institute Chief Executive Officer Dr. Elias Melly; and other Ministry and County officials.