NAIROBI ,Kenya, Aug 29 – Only about five million Kenyans registered under the Social Health Authority (SHA) are actively making contributions to the scheme, despite more than 32 million people having enrolled.

📻 Breaking It Down

The disparity has prompted the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Health to call for urgent measures to convert the large pool of registered members into active contributors and ensure the sustainability of the Government’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) reforms.

SHA chief executive officer Mercy Mwangangi told the committee that 32,180,494 Kenyans had registered with the Authority as of July 31, 2026, equivalent to 67.7 per cent of the national population.

However, only about five million registered members are currently active contributors.

📌 What You Need to Know

This means roughly 27.18 million registered Kenyans are not currently making contributions, with active contributors accounting for only about 15.5 per cent of all registered members.

The figures emerged during a joint retreat involving the Health Committee, SHA and the Digital Health Agency (DHA) to assess progress in the implementation of UHC, examine emerging challenges and identify measures to strengthen the country’s health-sector reforms.

Committee chairperson James Nyikal (Seme) said the Government should now concentrate on ensuring that registration translates into sustained participation in the health insurance scheme.

“Registration is not enough. We should put more energy into ensuring that more people are paying for health insurance,” Nyikal said.

The committee welcomed the registration milestone, saying the enrolment of more than 32 million Kenyans represented significant progress in expanding the potential reach of affordable healthcare.

But MPs warned that the registration figures could mask a major challenge if millions of members remain inactive.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya