A silent revolution is unfolding in Nairobi’s health sector, thanks to the Social Health Authority (SHA) program which is now active in the county’s Level 2, 3, and 4 hospitals.
From treating hundreds daily, to fixing broken chairs and upgrading wards.SHA funding is transforming Nairobi’s health facilities and restoring dignity to patient care. Through consistent monthly reimbursements, clinics can now offer free, quality services and improve their infrastructure.
Under the stewardship of Governor Sakaja Johnson and Health CECM Suzanne Silantoi, Nairobi County is leveraging SHA reimbursements to revamp primary health care facilities and offer free, quality medical services to thousands of residents every month.
In Embakasi South Subcounty, Dr. George Gatama, the Subcounty Medical Officer of Health, is leading the charge. He oversees four critical facilities: Mukuru Health Centre, Njenga Level 4 Hospital, Kware Dispensary, and Tueben Health Centre. According to Dr. Gatama, the transformation driven by SHA has been nothing short of remarkable.
“Kware Dispensary is currently the top-performing facility in Nairobi in terms of SHA revenue collection,” he revealed. “This success is largely due to our proactive clinical team, who have conducted consistent community outreach every Saturday over the last quarter.”
During these medical camps, residents receive free services including general consultations, immunizations, family planning, dermatology, X-rays, and eye check-ups. Patients are also registered on SHA during treatment, allowing facilities to submit reimbursement claims directly to the Authority.
“On June 2 and 3 alone, we held a major outreach that reached hundreds. SHA enables us to treat people for free, then submit claims, and within a month, the funds are wired directly into the facility accounts,” said Dr. Gatama.
This model has enabled facilities to solve long-standing problems: drugs are now consistently stocked, minor staffing gaps are being addressed, and critical upgrades have been undertaken all from SHA funds.
“Unlike NHIF, which used to reimburse only twice a year, SHA sends funds monthly. This has empowered us to renovate our clinics, purchase pharmaceuticals and non-pharmaceuticals, and even improve infrastructure,” Dr. Gatama added.
In Mukuru Health Centre, 40 new chairs were purchased and renovations are underway. Kware Dispensary, despite operating from only two container units, has seen exponential patient growth due to the dense population in Pipeline Ward. The dispensary recently received Ksh 1.1 million from SHA claims, while Njenga Health Facility received Ksh 1.2 million, sparking plans to upgrade Njenga to a Level 4 hospital.
Health CECM Suzanne Silantoi praised the bottom-up impact of SHA, noting that even basic privacy partitions are now in place in many facilities.
“We’re seeing change from the ground up. Wards are being partitioned, patient dignity is being restored, and clinics are finally able to grow sustainably,” Silantoi noted. “We’ve set a standard now other facilities are benchmarking with us.”
Governor Sakaja confirmed that SHA is revolutionizing healthcare delivery in Nairobi.
“We’ve guided our caregivers on SHA registration processes. Today, every patient treated is traceable in the system. From registration to reimbursement, SHA is not just improving access, it is transforming healthcare financing. Some facilities are now seeing up to 1,000 patients in a day,” Sakaja said.
With consistent funding, responsive administration, and high community turnout, SHA rollout in Nairobi County is emerging as a model for how devolved health systems can function efficiently and with dignity for all.
