Lead image for More SHA money is flowing, but are patients getting better care?.
The Social Health Authority (SHA) disbursed Sh21.36 billion to counties in the 2025/2026 financial year, up from Sh12.7 billion the previous year, a jump of nearly 70 per cent.
New payment data shows that the shift to Universal Health Coverage through the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) is producing measurable results, with the financing system growing sharply in both scale and reach over the past year.
That growth comes even as a number of Kenyans continue to complain about not getting services in hospitals across the country.
Still, for a programme that has faced scrutiny over payment delays and uneven disbursement in its early years, the data marks a rare alignment: rising registration, rising collections, rising disbursement and rising service delivery, all moving in the same direction.
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Nationally, between July 2025 and April 2026, SHIF paid out a total of Sh65.42 billion across 4,718 facility payment records spanning all 47 counties, financing inpatient, specialised and high-cost care as a core pillar of the UHC agenda.
In March and April 2026 alone, SHIF disbursed Sh25.37 billion, equal to more than 63 per cent of the Sh40.05 billion paid out over the preceding eight months combined. That surge signals a financing system that is not just growing but moving faster as processing systems mature.
Behind the totals sit some striking service numbers. SHIF has supported 1,080,052 safe deliveries, backed by free delivery services in primary healthcare facilities, with teen mothers able to access care once they obtain a temporary identification.