Government Spokesperson Charles Owino has defended the Social Health Authority (SHA), dismissing calls to scrap the programme and saying the health reforms are anchored in law.

Owino said SHA was established under the Social Health Insurance Act and is not a programme that can simply be abolished by an incoming administration without addressing the legal framework governing it.

Speaking during a media engagement, Owino said SHA operates through four funds targeting different areas of healthcare financing.

He said the Social Health Insurance Fund, which replaced the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), is a contributory scheme through which Kenyans make payments towards healthcare coverage.

The other funds are the Emergency, Critical and Chronic Illness Fund, the Primary Healthcare Fund and the Hospital Development Fund.

Owino said the Emergency, Critical and Chronic Illness Fund is financed through the National Treasury and is intended to support patients requiring emergency and critical care, including cases where treatment costs exceed an individual’s contributions.

He said the Primary Healthcare Fund is intended to support services at primary healthcare facilities, while the Hospital Development Fund will finance infrastructure development in health facilities.

Owino said more than 31 million Kenyans had registered under the SHA system, urging the public to assess the programme based on its actual performance rather than political rhetoric.

He argued that major public-sector reforms take time to fully implement, likening the process to the development of a child, which cannot happen overnight.