President William Ruto on Tuesday appointed Dr Abdi Mohammed to head the Board of the Social Health Authority (SHA).
According to a Gazette Notice dated Tuesday, September 17, Abdi will be taking over as the new chair of the SHA board after the position was left vacant by Dr Timothy Olweny who was appointed to the position in November last year.
Mohamed will serve in the position for a period of three years.
Dr.Abdi had been serving on the same board as the chair of the Strategy and Operations Committee.
Newly appointed Chair of the Social Health Authority (SHA) board, 2024.
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Dr.Abdi Mohammed
In the same appointments, Olweny was transferred to the Board of the National Cancer Institute where he will serve as the chairperson for a period of three years.
The Social Health Authority was established after the Social Health Insurance Act 2023 came into force after being assented to by President William Ruto on October 19, 2023.
SHA is designed to provide healthcare services from empaneled and contracted healthcare providers and healthcare facilities on referral from primary health facilities.
The authority replaced the repealed National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) with all enhanced benefits schemes and packages under NHIF transferring to the new authority on the appointed day.
In July, the High Court dealt a major blow to the new President Ruto’s social health plan after it ruled it unconstitutional.
In its ruling, the court declared all laws enacted by Ruto’s administration to overhaul the health care system as “null and void.”
However, the Ministry of Health was able to obtain a stay order on the SHIF allowing its rollout which is supposed to officially start of 1 October 2024.
Under the new SHIF scheme, formal sector employees are required to contribute 2.75% of their monthly salaries.
Kenyans in the informal sector will pay a fixed monthly amount of Ksh.500.
In the previous NHIF system, contributions ranged from Ksh. 1,400 to Ksh.1,700 monthly, depending on salaries, with an equivalent employer match. Self-employed individuals previously made voluntary contributions of Ksh. 500.
President William Ruto speaking during an interview in Saudi Arabia on October 24, 2023.
PCS
