A total of 70,600 poor households in Kiambu County are set to benefit from the Universal Healthcare (UHC) programme after the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) ratified their registration.
The programme is being implemented by the county Government in collaboration with NHIF, with the county covering 100 percent of the beneficiaries’ premiums.
NHIF CEO Samson Kuhora, who spoke to journalists after a meeting with Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi, said this is a pilot intervention to manage and support health care needs for the people of Kiambu.
“NHIF will procure health care for about 70,600 identified and registered households. This is about 280,000 residents of Kiambu County being covered for health insurance, if we assume that every household has a minimum of about four members,” said Kuhura.
He added that plans were underway to ensure that beneficiaries with chronic conditions receive a unique scheme to cater to their specific treatment.
“The ailments covered include mental health, dental, surgery and cancer treatment; thus, we intend to register another 30,000 households to be done in 30 days from today,” added Kuhura.
The parastatal, in partnership with the county government, has also installed biometric identification gadgets in 90 level two and level three hospitals to ensure all facilities will be NHIF accredited.
On his part, Kiambu Governor Wamatangi said the initiative aims to cushion poor and vulnerable households spread across all 12 subcounties from the high cost of accessing medical services.
“In the project’s first phase, the county has already provided finance for 100,000 households with NHIF, and the county plans to register the second phase beneficiaries within the next month,” said Wamatangi.
Kiambu County is also building 13 new level three hospitals, renovating existing level 4 hospitals and installing new equipment worth almost Sh200 million to ensure they can provide quality healthcare services under the UHC.
“We aim to reach at least 400 families (one million people) by next year, focusing on the needy… This intervention is to make sure that every citizen of this county can access health care within a kilometre of their residence,” the Governor said.
The registration of poor families was launched by former President Uhuru Kenyatta on October 31, 2020, with the aim of ensuring all Kenyans access preventive, promotional, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services at a minimum cost.
By Grace Naishoo
