NAIROBI,Kenya June 12 – The government has challenged county health leaders to accelerate the implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) reforms, warning that the success of Kenya’s ambitious health financing programme now depends on effective service delivery at the facility level.Speaking during a meeting with county health officials, Principal Secretary for Medical Services Dr. Ouma Oluga said the country’s health reforms had moved beyond policy formulation and entered a critical implementation phase, with millions of Kenyans already benefiting from services financed through the Social Health Authority (SHA).According to the PS, 31.39 million Kenyans had registered with SHA as of June 8, 2026, while the authority had paid out Sh147.37 billion in healthcare claims since its inception in October 2024.“These are not projections. These are facts recorded in the system,” Oluga said. “That is the Kenya we are building. Not a Kenya that talks about health coverage, but a Kenya that pays for it, at scale, in real time.”The authority has also contracted 11,034 health facilities nationwide and financed more than 1.16 million safe deliveries, signalling what the government describes as significant progress in expanding access to healthcare services.Oluga noted that the country’s legal framework for UHC is now fully operational following the implementation of the Social Health Insurance Act, the Digital Health Act, the Primary Health Care Act and the Facility Improvement Financing Act.He reminded county governments that Kenya had committed to achieving self-reliance in health financing within the next three years, while implementation of the Kenya-US Health Cooperation Framework signed in December 2025 was expected to begin in earnest next month.“The reforms are no longer in design. They are in delivery,” he said. “Every gap between policy and patient experience is now a gap between us and our constitutional obligation.”The PS singled out maternal health as a key priority under the government’s EWENE Rapid Results Initiative, which aims to reduce maternal mortality by 80 percent by 2028.He revealed that SHA had financed 1,166,144 deliveries at a cost exceeding Sh17 billion, with counties receiving over Sh9 billion from the programme. Additionally, nearly 99,000 adolescent mothers had received support through the Teenage Mothers Programme.To sustain services in Level 2 and Level 3 facilities, Oluga said President William Ruto had approved an additional Sh4.2 billion allocation for the current financial year.Despite the gains, he expressed concern over persistent teenage pregnancies and maternal deaths, urging county governments to ensure all lower-level facilities are empanelled under SHA and that healthcare workers understand the full maternity benefit package.“If a mother is dying because a facility has not aligned its processes with SHA, that is a systems failure we can fix,” he said.Oluga also raised concern over disparities in SHA registration across counties.While Mombasa leads the country with an 81.3 percent registration rate, some counties remain below 70 percent. The national average currently stands at 66 percent.He attributed the differences largely to communication and public mobilisation efforts and directed counties to begin UHC awareness campaigns within health facilities.“Our own workforce must understand what SHA covers and how patients can access services. If our staff cannot explain the benefit package, we cannot blame the public for not enrolling,” he said.The Medical Services PS further directed counties to complete the transition of UHC staff into permanent positions by July 1, 2026.He argued that uncertainty among healthcare workers ultimately affects service delivery and patient care.Oluga also proposed the deployment of dedicated SHA claims officers in all Level 4 hospitals and above to improve reimbursement rates and reduce claim processing errors.According to ministry data, claim settlement rates vary significantly between counties, ranging from 86.81 percent in Tana River to 70.36 percent in Nakuru.“The gap does not reflect quality of care. It reflects claims management capacity,” he said.The PS challenged counties to strengthen blood donation campaigns, noting that Kenya requires at least 550,000 units of blood annually but collected only 333,533 units during the 2024/25 financial year.National performance in the first three quarters of the current financial year stands at 57 percent of the target.He also urged county governments to improve utilisation of the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) system by making timely orders and strengthening inventory management.On healthcare digitisation, Oluga said equipment worth Sh9.05 billion had been installed under the National Equipment Services Programme (NESP) in 240 county facilities and seven national referral hospitals.However, he disclosed that Nyamira and Turkana counties had yet to submit requests under the programme.The PS directed all counties to complete NESP digitisation and automation by the end of June to facilitate direct SHA fund flows and real-time monitoring.“The Digital Health Act obligations are now statutory requirements,” he said.Oluga further revealed that 819 county health facilities are operating without valid licences.Out of 6,834 county health facilities registered by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), only 6,015 currently hold valid operating licences.Because only licensed facilities qualify for SHA empanelment, he warned that counties risk losing substantial revenue and limiting access to affordable healthcare services.He called on county governments to achieve full compliance by July 31.The meeting is expected to adopt resolutions requiring counties to complete UHC staff transition by July 1, deploy dedicated SHA claims officers, achieve full participation in the NESP programme, submit blood mobilisation plans, and institutionalise UHC sensitisation sessions across health facilities.Oluga said the progress achieved so far had been driven by frontline health workers, community health promoters and facility managers working to expand access to healthcare.“But numbers are not the aim,” he said. “The aim is a Kenyan who walks into a health facility and walks out having received safe, effective, respectful care, without financial ruin.”“We are close enough to that aim to see it. We are not yet close enough to declare it done.”