CS DUALE APPEARS BEFORE SENATE TO ADDRESS QUESTIONS ON THE HEALTH SECTOR REFORMS

Senate Plenary
Wednesday, 29th October 2025

Cabinet Secretary for Health, Hon. Aden Duale, today appeared before the Senate Plenary to respond to questions raised by lawmakers concerning the implementation, funding and reforms of the Linda Mama Program under the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Responding to a question by Sen. Tabitha Mutinda on the status of Linda Mama, CS Duale clarified that the Linda Mama program is not currently administered under SHA. He explained that while the program had been instrumental in expanding access to free maternity care, it faced critical challenges that necessitated a transition to a more sustainable and comprehensive healthcare model.
“The Linda Mama Programme faced frequent financing constraints, equity gaps especially for adolescent mothers without identification and a limited benefit package that excluded essential services such as neonatal intensive care,” said CS Duale.
He noted that the Ministry of Health through SHA, has since adopted a comprehensive household coverage model to ensure vulnerable families can access a broader range of essential health services. Affirming that under this framework, the National Government is sponsoring 558,000 indigent households identified through the Enhanced Single Registry (ESR) managed by the State Department for Social Protection.
Recognizing the challenge of teenage pregnancies, CS Duale said that, the Ministry has also introduced targeted interventions for adolescent mothers and their newborns. Through digital health platforms and Community Health Promoters (CHPs), SHA now facilitates real-time registration and access to subsidized care for these vulnerable groups.
CS Duale further explained that the fund allocation model has shifted to a Fee-for-Service approach, allowing funds to follow the patient via claims replacing fixed pre-allocations to facilities.
When asked whether the benefit package had changed under SHIF, the Cabinet Secretary confirmed that the transition to SHIF has expanded the former Linda Mama scheme into the Linda Jamii initiative, broadening coverage beyond maternal services.
“While delivery services remain central, reimbursement is now aligned with actual service costs, ensuring inclusivity for vulnerable households,” Duale stated.
To safeguard funds allocated for maternal and child health, CS Duale outlined multiple layers of accountability, including legal and policy safeguards, digital tracking systems and transparency frameworks to ensure equitable benefit delivery especially in rural and marginalized areas.
In response to a question on access to services in under-resourced areas, CS Duale highlighted that the Ministry, through SHA has implemented digital registration deployment, community linkages via CHPs and targeted support for under-resourced health facilities.
On outcomes achieved through the Linda Mama program since its inception, the CS cited data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) showing marked progress on Maternal mortality declined from 362 to 355 deaths per 100,000 live births (2014–2019), Infant mortality dropped from 39 to 32 deaths per 1,000 live births and Antenatal care attendance increased from 52% to 60%, indicating better service utilization.
Addressing a question from Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda on SHA Claims from low-tier hospitals, CS Duale reaffirmed SHA’s commitment to equitable claims settlement across all health facilities, regardless of their tier or location.
“The design of our digital system ensures that both rural and urban facilities receive equal priority in claim processing,” he assured Senators.
On the matter of fraudulent claims under the former Taifa Care healthcare scheme, the Cabinet Secretary disclosed that a comprehensive forensic review and digital audit conducted by the Ministry, SHA, DHA, and KMPDC uncovered and rejected KSh 10.6 billion worth of non-compliant or fraudulent claims.
“The ongoing forensic validation has proven the effectiveness of SHA’s digital architecture in detecting and preventing fraud,” CS Duale said.
He further revealed that SHA has rolled out reforms to enhance governance, transparency and accountability, including AI-powered digital oversight systems that use machine learning to detect abnormal claim patterns, inflated billing, and duplicate submissions in real time.