NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 25 — President William Ruto has announced that the Government will this month begin paying medical insurance for all the 107,000 Community Health Promoters (CHPs) under the Social Health Authority (SHA).The President said this is a recognition of the indispensable role the CHPs are playing in the country’s plan to achieve Universal Health Coverage.Under the plan, the National Government will provide Sh390 million, with the President saying counties will contribute a similar amount.Consequently, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja released more than KSh30 million for the initiative.President Ruto said CHPs are at the heart of Kenya’s primary healthcare system and assured them of continued Government investment in their welfare, including sustainable remuneration, training, digital support and provision of medical equipment.“Those who dedicate themselves to the health of the nation must also enjoy the dignity of health cover for themselves and their families,” the President pointed out.Speaking at State House Nairobi on Saturday, during a meeting with about 8,000 Community Health Promoters from Nairobi County, he described the frontline health workers as the backbone of Kenya’s healthcare system and central to the country’s preventive health strategy.Present were Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni, Governor Sakaja, several MPs and other leaders from Nairobi County.President Ruto said Kenya has built one of Africa’s strongest community health systems by placing communities at the centre of healthcare delivery through close collaboration between National and County governments.The Government, he noted, has shifted the healthcare model from curative to preventive, with CHPs playing a critical role through household visits, health education and early intervention.“Community Health Promoters are the first point of contact between Kenyans and their health system. Before patients reach a dispensary, health centre or hospital, they first meet you in their homes,” he said.President Ruto said the National Government will continue working with counties to establish a sustainable remuneration framework for healthcare workers while strengthening professional training, digitising community health services and equipping medical staff with the tools needed to deliver quality healthcare at the grassroots.He highlighted the progress made since the CHPs programme was launched in October 2023, noting that about 9.4 million households, representing more than 30 million Kenyans, have been enrolled in the electronic Community Health Information System (e-CHIS).The President said the programme has become a cornerstone of the Government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda and the strategy to achieve universal healthcare through strengthened primary healthcare.As SHA expands across the country, President Ruto said CHPs will play an even greater role in educating households, facilitating registration and enrolment, conducting referrals and promoting preventive healthcare to reduce treatment costs.“You are not simply supporting healthcare reform. You are leading it from the frontlines,” he told the health promoters.At the same time, President Ruto urged leaders not to politicise healthcare reforms, saying the success of SHA should be judged on its impact rather than political rhetoric.He maintained that the medical insurance has significantly outperformed the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), stating that CHPs are best placed to assess whether the reforms are working.To illustrate SHA’s impact, the President cited a health facility in Pangani, Nairobi, whose monthly revenue has risen from about KSh100,000 a month under NHIF to KSh1.5 million under SHA, while the number of patients served has increased from about 10 to 150 daily.Riruta Level 4 Hospital, which was upgraded from level 3 under SHA, now generates more than KSh6 million a month compared to about KSh200,000 under the defunct NHIF.President Ruto criticised calls to reinstate NHIF, noting that the former scheme had eight million registered members and disbursed KSh5.6 billion in three months, compared with SHA’s average monthly disbursement of KSh12 billion.By next week, he disclosed, hospitals will have received KSh12 billion for services rendered this month.“Those asking us to return to NHIF are threatening the health of our people. If they want to know whether SHA is working, they should ask the Community Health Promoters,” the President explained.He added that medical equipment worth KSh10 billion have been procured and installed under the Government’s health reforms.President Ruto commended Nairobi residents for embracing SHA, saying 2.8 million people, representing 65 per cent of the county’s population, have registered.In the past one and a half years, he noted, KSh170 billion has been disbursed to health facilities nationwide under SHA, with Nairobi hospitals receiving the lion’s share of KSh32 billion.Turning to politics, President Ruto urged Kenyans to judge leaders by their track record and development agenda rather than political rhetoric.He criticised politicians opposing Government programmes such as affordable housing and modern markets, saying the projects are intended to improve livelihoods.“They want Kibera to remain a slum so that people continue living without proper roads, electricity and sanitation. They want to stop the construction of modern markets so that traders continue operating in muddy and dusty conditions,” he said.The President also appealed to Kenyans to reject tribalism and all forms of division in favour of national unity.Mr Duale said Kenya’s UHC programme has earned international recognition, with the World Health Organisation and several African countries looking up to Kenya as a model.The Health Cabinet Secretary explained that the CHPs’ initiative has become a benchmark for other countries seeking to strengthen primary healthcare systems.He added that previous governments had attempted to implement UHC without achieving the current level of success, adding that CHPs have enabled early detection of conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity through household screening.On his part, Governor Sakaja said investing in primary healthcare significantly reduces overall healthcare costs.“For every $1 spent on primary healthcare, about $14 is saved in the overall health budget,” he pointed out.He added: “For a long time, people used to go to hospitals. Today, Community Health Promoters are taking healthcare to the people.”