Hospitals Deny Services to SHA Beneficiaries Amid Widespread Issues with New Authority - September 2025

The new Social Health Authority (SHA) is facing multiple challenges. Expectant mothers are stranded as hospitals under the RUPHA program are reportedly refusing services to SHA beneficiaries. A citizens' forum, Bunge la Mwananchi, has also raised concerns that patients covered under SHA are being denied essential medical services. Concurrently, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) has rejected a government directive requiring teachers to fund their medical expenses through the SHA scheme. Furthermore, former employees of the disbanded National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) are in limbo after failing to secure re-employment with the new authority.