President William Ruto has said that over 1,000 health facilities have been closed across Kenya in an ongoing crackdown.
He revealed this while speaking to Kenyans living in the United Kingdom on Thursday, July 3.
According to the president, the closures are part of efforts to clean up the health sector and remove institutions that are involved in fraud linked to the Social Health Authority.
Ruto said that the government is determined to protect the SHA programme from being ruined by corruption and dishonest individuals.
In his statement, President Ruto said that more health facilities are expected to be closed as the crackdown continues.
He warned that any facility found to be misusing the SHA system would be shut down. Ruto stressed that those trying to take advantage of Kenyans through the health programme will not succeed.
He stated clearly that the health reforms his administration has started must be free from corruption, and any criminal activity will be dealt with firmly.
He also praised the performance of the SHA, which was launched in October 2024, saying that it has already helped more than 4.9 million Kenyans.
ccording to him, this number is far greater than what the now-defunct NHIF would have managed in the same period. He called SHA a transformative programme that is already showing positive results in less than one year.
This announcement came just a few days after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale disclosed that 35 private hospitals had also been shut down.
Speaking at a public meeting in Kisumu, Duale explained that the crackdown was part of a wider plan to deal with fraud in the health sector.
He said that some of the hospitals that were closed had used fake documents to get SHA accreditation.
Others were found to be charging for inpatient services when they had only offered outpatient care, in a clear attempt to steal from the system.
Duale made it clear that the ministry would not stop until all dishonest health facilities and individuals are exposed and punished.
He said the goal is to ensure that Kenyans can trust the system and receive proper medical services without the interference of corruption.
The crackdown is expected to continue across the country as part of the government’s mission to fix the health sector.
Leave feedback about this