Hospitals have been given until 30 October 2026 to adopt the system or risk being locked out of contracting with SHA, a move that could leave patients unable to access care and put healthcare out of reach for those who need it most.
Private hospitals have raised concerns over the short transition period, the small number of certified systems, and SHA’s reliance on a single vendor. They also warn of heavy financial strain, estimating the cost of transitioning at between Ksh 600,000 and Ksh 1 million annually. Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale met private hospital owners, but the government has maintained that the transition will go ahead.
According to the Ministry of Health, 6,427 public Level 2 to 4 facilities have fully transitioned, as have four of five public Level 5 facilities. Among contracted faith-based facilities, only 38 of 518 have completed the move. No figures were given for private hospitals.
About 33 million Kenyans are now registered on SHA. CEO Dr Mercy Mwangangi says HMIS will help curb fraud, noting that SHA has lost about Ksh 300 million to fraud, of which roughly Ksh 280 million has been recovered. She also clarified that SHA is not closing down and that the shift is meant to enable real-time data capture.
“When a Kenyan comes into the facility, whether they are paid up on SHA or not, you will know,” she said. “We will see in real time whatever the doctor keys in, and everything will be paperless.”
Digital Health Agency CEO Anthony Lemayanya said hospitals are not being asked to abandon their current functional systems. Instead, those systems would be certified under a framework anchored in law, placing them on the same level as HMIS and avoiding the difficulty of integrating different platforms.
SHA, and now HMIS, has become a political talking point for the opposition. Criticism has centred on the programme’s inception and the partners involved, the Adani controversy, transparency concerns and the Ksh 104 billion allocated to the scheme. Some Kenyans also say they have struggled to access SHA services or that funds have not reached them. A documentary has further questioned the algorithm used to assess contributions, with experts arguing that its set of questions favours people of higher socioeconomic status over those living hand to mouth.
With the deadline approaching, the question is whether the remaining hospitals, especially private and faith-based facilities, can transition in time without disrupting patient care.
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