President William Ruto has directed that all Community Health Promoters (CHPs) in Nairobi be enrolled under the Social Health Authority (SHA), with the national and county governments jointly financing their medical insurance in a move aimed at strengthening primary healthcare and accelerating the delivery of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Speaking during a meeting with Nairobi Community Health Promoters at State House on Saturday, the President instructed Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to transfer Sh319 million allocated for the programme to SHA to facilitate the medical cover for the frontline health workers.
Ruto said the cost of the insurance scheme would be shared equally between the two levels of government, describing the arrangement as a partnership that would protect the health workers who play a critical role in delivering healthcare at the community level.
"The national government will contribute half of the cost while the county government will pay the remaining half. This is a partnership that will ensure every community health promoter has health insurance," he said.
During the event, the Nairobi County Government presented a cheque worth Sh30,967,200 towards the SHA cover for Community Health Promoters. President Ruto announced that the national government would match the county's contribution with more than Sh30 million to ensure the programme is fully funded.
The Head of State challenged other county governments to adopt a similar model by enrolling their Community Health Promoters under SHA and, where possible, extending the cover to include their spouses, children and families.
Ruto also praised Nairobi's Community Health Promoters for their contribution to disease prevention and early detection, saying they have exceeded expectations in supporting the country's primary healthcare agenda.
According to the President, 810,590 households have so far been registered on the electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS), representing 54 per cent of Nairobi's target.
He noted that the county's 7,680 Community Health Promoters, each equipped with a health kit and a smartphone, have become the first line of defence against preventable diseases through regular household visits.
The President said the health workers have conducted about 2.7 million diabetes screenings, identifying nearly 94,000 cases and referring close to 300,000 people for further medical care. They have also carried out 2.1 million hypertension screenings, referred more than 50,000 patients for treatment, and completed over 1.31 million screenings for malnutrition and pneumonia among children under the age of five.\
"These are diseases being detected early. That is what prevention looks like when healthcare is delivered household by household," Ruto said.
He maintained that Kenya's goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage would be realised through preventive healthcare delivered within communities rather than hospitals.
"UHC will not be won in hospitals. It will be won in households through our Community Health Promoters. That is why they are a strategic pillar of our primary healthcare system and our commitment to UHC," he said.
To strengthen community healthcare services further, the President directed the Ministry of Health to provide all Community Health Promoters across the country with new health kits within the next 90 days. He also ordered the replacement of their smartphones to improve digital reporting, household registration and disease surveillance.
Ruto said investing in Community Health Promoters through better equipment, digital tools and comprehensive health insurance would strengthen Kenya's primary healthcare system while reducing healthcare costs through early disease detection and prevention.