NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 5 – The Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors have agreed that existing Social Health Authority (SHA) contracts for county public health facilities, extended to October 14, will not be renewed further.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the CoG Health Committee Chair Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, to review implementation of the SHA 2026–2029 contracting cycle known as HAKIKA.
The ministry and governors said the process will be accelerated to ensure eligible county facilities are contracted and continue providing services to SHA beneficiaries without interruption.
“Our shared aim is that every eligible county health facility is contracted, paid on time and able to serve SHA beneficiaries without interruption,” the Ministry of Health said in the joint statement.
The parties also reaffirmed that county health services are a devolved function and said relations between the two levels of government would continue to be guided by consultation and cooperation.
SHA will establish HAKIKA contracting clinics in every county until October 14 to help facilities complete the process and will provide weekly updates to the Council of Governors on the status of eligible facilities.
A joint technical committee comprising SHA, CoG and county health department representatives will coordinate implementation and address technical and operational challenges.
Each county facility will retain an individual contract with SHA, with payments continuing to its respective Facility Improvement Financing account, while SHA will accept relevant documentation held at county level to reduce delays.
Facilities that meet other contracting requirements will have 30 days to submit outstanding NSSF, NEMA, fire safety, NCPWD and ODPC documentation, although the conditional compliance period does not remove their statutory obligations.
The ministry said licences for laboratory, pharmacy and imaging services remain mandatory, with facilities to be contracted only for services for which they are duly licensed.
On claims, the parties agreed that clean claims will be paid within 90 days of receipt and in the order received.
Where funds are insufficient, unpaid clean claims will be recognised as certified liabilities and carried forward for settlement within the same financial year, subject to appropriated funds.
The Council of Governors also committed to supporting Level 5 hospitals to complete their transition to the Health Management Information System by October 30, 2026.
The Ministry of Health and CoG will review progress before October 14 as the new contracting cycle takes effect.
