Social Health Authority Replaces OTPs with Mandatory Biometric Identification System for Health Facilities - August 2025

The Social Health Authority (SHA) and the Ministry of Health have officially replaced One-Time Passwords (OTPs) with a mandatory biometric identification system across all Level 4, 5, and 6 health facilities in Kenya. This initiative, launched by SHA Chairperson Saleh Duale, aims to combat fraud and streamline processes within the country's health social scheme. Cabinet Secretary Duale emphasized that all registrations and approvals will now exclusively be conducted using fingerprint identification or via a dedicated app, effectively discontinuing OTP-based authorizations due to security concerns.