Duale, faith-based hospitals hold consultation over roll out of Taifa Care
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale held a consultative meeting with representatives of faith-based hospitals to review progress in the rollout of Taifa Care, Kenya’s flagship model for Universal Health Coverage.
The meeting was held on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, and brought together the Ministry of Health and a consortium of faith-based providers, including the Christian Health Association of Kenya, Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims.
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They discussed achievements, bottlenecks, and next steps in implementation.
Duale praised faith-based organisations for their decades of contribution to healthcare delivery across the country.
“We appreciate the great role played by Faith-Based Organisations in the delivery of health services, particularly in remote and underserved areas. Your continued partnership is crucial to the success of Taifa Care and our journey towards Universal Health Coverage,” Duale stated.
Progress
In a joint statement released after the meeting, the parties outlined key progress.
“The Social Health Authority has so far on-boarded over 26.5 million Kenyans. The Digital Health Agency has digitised 3,386 of a target 6,500 facilities in the public sector. The Ministry has supported the FBO facilities by issuing them with 100 devices and training their officers on the system,” the statement read in part.
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They further noted that for the financial year 2025/26, the government has allocated Ksh6.1 billion for UHC employees, Ksh1.75 billion to settle doctors’ arrears under the Return to Work Formula, Ksh9.9 billion to pay interns, some serving in faith-based facilities, and Ksh3.2 billion to support Community Health Promoters.
They said that the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency had improved its order fill rate to 70 per cent with a target of 90 per cent by December 2025 due to recapitalisation.
Duale said that the Social Health Authority has paid out Ksh10 billion for Primary Health Care and Ksh59.3 billion for the Social Health Insurance Funds. He also reported that he has written to the National Treasury requesting Ksh5.4 billion to be factored into the supplementary budget to clear legacy NHIF debt, now below Ksh10 million, in line with a presidential directive.
“SHA shall endeavour to pay all claims on a First in First Out basis, adhering to the 90-day contractual period,” the statement added.
Among the agreed next steps, Duale will visit Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies in the next two weeks and launch CT scans at Tenwek and Dream Lands Hospitals. The Social Health Authority will assign relationship managers to facilities and organise joint clinics to improve service delivery and account management.
The consortium will submit a list of needy remote facilities to be prioritised for digitisation devices. Faith-based platforms will be used to sensitise members on the benefits of SHA and promote registration desks in churches and mosques. The chairperson will also convene quarterly progress report meetings.
Kenya’s UHC agenda has faced hurdles since the replacement of NHIF with the Social Health Authority in 2023. While over 26 million Kenyans have been registered under SHA, delays in claim settlements have triggered discontent, with some private hospitals threatening to suspend services.
The government is also racing to clear NHIF’s legacy debts, which strained trust between hospitals and the state.
