Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale during a media Town Hall engagement on the state of health and preparation for Kenya Health Summit 2026, in Nairobi, on August 11, 2026. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]
President William Ruto and Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale have celebrated the 32.2 million enrollment under the Social Health Authority (SHA), describing the figure as the highest number of Kenyans ever enrolled in a health insurance scheme.
But the high registration numbers mask a much smaller pool of people actually contributing to the scheme, with an insider familiar with SHA operations saying only about five million members are remitting premiums.
“The question is not about the number of people registered to the scheme, but how much is being collected,” said the insider, who requested anonymity for fear of victimisation.
“Registration is one thing. Contribution and retention are a different thing.”
During the launch of a national ambulance dispatch centre held on Wednesday last week, Health CS Duale noted that 32.2 million Kenyans are SHA registered members, with Mombasa leading in registration, having achieved an 80 per cent registration rate.