The Social Health Authority (SHA) has announced the rollout of biometric fingerprint identification for all registered child dependants, marking a new step in verifying beneficiaries seeking treatment under the national health insurance scheme.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

In a notice on Tuesday, July 7, SHA said the child's fingerprint will be used to verify the child's identity and confirm that the correct beneficiary is receiving care.

According to the authority, the biometric verification will be for children aged 7 to 17, and parents and guardians will be asked to give consent for their fingerprints to be captured.

"SHA has introduced fingerprint identification for registered child dependants aged 7 to 17 years. Parents or guardians are required to give consent for the fingerprint to be captured," SHA stated.

📌 What You Need to Know

The authority noted that the child's fingerprint will be captured at a SHA-contracted healthcare provider during the child's treatment visit.

"The child's fingerprint will be captured at a SHA-contracted healthcare provid er when the child visits for treatment. It will be used to identify the child and confirm that the correct beneficiary is receiving care," it added.

Where fingerprint verification is not possible, SHA said the hospital may use the contributor's identification number and a one-time password (OTP) for verification.

The authority reassured members that the drive will be handled securely in accordance with the Data Protection Act, ruling out any possibility of a privacy invasion.

The move is expected to strengthen beneficiary identification and help ensure healthcare services are accessed by the rightful beneficiaries, after widespread allegations of fraud under the scheme.

The government, through the Digital Health Agency (DHA), has already deployed over 8,000 biometric scanners to public health facilities nationwide.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke