Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has announced a sweeping overhaul of Kenya’s overseas medical treatment protocols.

Speaking during the 2026 Legislative Retreat in Mombasa, Duale revealed that the Social Health Authority (SHA) has implemented a strict “Local First” policy, restricting state-funded treatment abroad to a specific list of only 36 medical interventions currently unavailable within Kenyan borders.

Under these new regulations, the government will no longer authorize or fund foreign medical referrals for procedures that can be performed by local specialists.

To enforce this, Duale noted that a panel of medical experts now subjects every referral to rigorous peer review.

Furthermore, SHA has initiated mandatory digital contracting process for foreign hospitals, primarily in India and Europe, requiring them to meet the same accreditation standards as local facilities before receiving Kenyan patients.

The CS emphasized that these reforms are designed to stop the “exportation of Kenyan wealth” and instead stimulate investment in domestic healthcare infrastructure.

Duale reported that over 29 million Kenyans have been successfully registered under SHA as of January 2026.

Financed by contributions totaling Ksh 130.4 billion, the authority has already disbursed Ksh 93.4 billion to healthcare providers, maintaining a 73% claim settlement rate.

The CS highlighted a massive digital crackdown on internal fraud.

Using an AI-driven system, SHA successfully flagged and rejected Ksh 11 billion in fraudulent claims, including cases of inflated surgical rates and ghost dependents.

As the government moves to cover the insurance premiums for 107,000 Community Health Promoters starting July 2026, Duale urged Parliament to pass the Quality of Healthcare and Patient Safety Bill 2025 to cement these gains.