In a country that claims to be a regional tech leader, registering for the Social Health Authority (SHA) has become a lesson in humiliation. We are told to dial *147# for a process that is supposed to be simple and accessible. Instead, multiple attempts yield nothing but technical errors, leaving users staring at blank screens, wondering if the system was ever tested beyond a boardroom PowerPoint presentation.
The web portal is no better. When you try to add a dependent, the system often generates the name of a complete stranger—something I experienced firsthand recently. This is a dangerous breach of data integrity.
Launched in late 2024 to replace National Health Insurance Fund, SHA was meant to streamline access to Taifa Care. Yet from the start, it has exposed deep dysfunction within our public systems. Hospitals have been forced to revert to manual claims because the digital backbone, which cost taxpayers billions, fails constantly. Data suggests over 60 per cent of providers cannot access the system at critical times.
The human cost is devastating. Patients in desperate need, including those battling cancer, are being turned away or forced to pay cash because verification is broken. We have heard stories of families denied treatment for loved ones due to these supposed upgrades. How many lives are being gambled with while bureaucrats sleep at their jobs?
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Why do we tolerate this level of mediocrity? In Kenya, we have normalised broken systems—potholed roads, power outages that cripple shops and factories. But healthcare is a matter of life and death. County governments complain of delayed payments and high rejection rates, yet the government continues glossy marketing campaigns while ignoring reality on the ground.
When a woman is detained in a hospital for five months because a system rejected her claim, that is systemic collapse. Why can we not build a simple, robust system for something as vital as national health? Is it sheer apathy, based on the bet that Kenyans will grumble but ultimately endure? We have poured billions into a platform that is down more often than it is up. The most vulnerable—the elderly and those in rural areas without stable internet—suffer most.
We saw a similar debacle with Huduma Namba and we are seeing it again with SHA. It is time we demand accountability. The SHA system’s back-end must be fixed. If we do not reject mediocrity now, we will keep paying for it with our lives.
Elijah Koome, Executive Director of Youth Advocacy Africa, Nairobi
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In a country that claims to be a regional tech leader, registering for the Social Health Authority (SHA) has become a lesson in humiliation. We are told to dial *147# for a process that is supposed to be simple and accessible. Instead, multiple attempts yield nothing but technical errors, leaving users staring at blank screens, wondering if the system was ever tested beyond a boardroom PowerPoint presentation.
The web portal is no better. When you try to add a dependent, the system often generates the name of a complete stranger—something I experienced firsthand recently. This is a dangerous breach of data integrity.
Launched in late 2024 to replace National Health Insurance Fund, SHA was meant to streamline access to Taifa Care. Yet from the start, it has exposed deep dysfunction within our public systems. Hospitals have been forced to revert to manual claims because the digital backbone, which cost taxpayers billions, fails constantly. Data suggests over 60 per cent of providers cannot access the system at critical times.
The human cost is devastating. Patients in desperate need, including those battling cancer, are being turned away or forced to pay cash because verification is broken. We have heard stories of families denied treatment for loved ones due to these supposed upgrades. How many lives are being gambled with while bureaucrats sleep at their jobs?
Follow The Standard
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Why do we tolerate this level of mediocrity? In Kenya, we have normalised broken systems—potholed roads, power outages that cripple shops and factories. But healthcare is a matter of life and death. County governments complain of delayed payments and high rejection rates, yet the government continues glossy marketing campaigns while ignoring reality on the ground.
When a woman is detained in a hospital for five months because a system rejected her claim, that is systemic collapse. Why can we not build a simple, robust system for something as vital as national health? Is it sheer apathy, based on the bet that Kenyans will grumble but ultimately endure? We have poured billions into a platform that is down more often than it is up. The most vulnerable—the elderly and those in rural areas without stable internet—suffer most.
We saw a similar debacle with Huduma Namba and we are seeing it again with SHA. It is time we demand accountability. The SHA system’s back-end must be fixed. If we do not reject mediocrity now, we will keep paying for it with our lives.
Elijah Koome, Executive Director of Youth Advocacy Africa, Nairobi
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By Elijah Koome