Kenya’s push to modernise healthcare oversight through digital health systems in Kenya is already reshaping how services are monitored, funded, and delivered across the country, according to Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni.
Speaking on Thursday, 22nd January 2026, Muthoni said that the Digital Health Act of 2023 was a milestone as it provided the government with a glimpse of the healthcare actions that were happening across the 47 counties across the country.
How Digital Health Systems in Kenya Offer Real-Time Oversight
Muthoni noted that with the new digital framework, the Ministry of Health gets daily reports from health promotion within the communities, as well as facilities and health workers. The key aims to get a better understanding of what is happening on the ground to inform response interventions.
“If I want to open up my computer in the morning, I can see everything that happened the day before,” she said. “From all 47 counties, we can see the number of households that were visited or the number of community health promoters.”
This means the ministry will be able to track the number of people being screened for diseases like diabetes; the number of children being screened for malnutrition and common childhood diseases; and the number of patients being referred for further treatment. This shows that it will be easier to respond to the rising health concerns.
Besides the attention accorded to patients, Muthoni identified that the healthcare workers themselves are completely digitalized, with every practitioner linked to the system, enabling the regulation of practice and the prevention of abuse of public health resources.
“That is why you have seen that we can switch off your license,” she said, which referred to cases involving health staff who sought to access health services fraudulently or work outside their licensed facilities. According to her, digital health technologies have made it difficult for individuals to manipulate the system or claim services that were never delivered.
She cited an example of One-Time Passwords (OTPs) used by a Social Health Authority (SHA) as an added security feature. The system also authenticates users that their physical location is somewhere in their service facility before the requested service is approved.
“You cannot give your one-time-password in Mandera while you are in Nairobi,” explained Muthoni. “You must be in the facility for us to know that the surgery actually took place.”
The controls, according to Muthoni, remain vital towards safeguarding public funds, curbing ghost services, as well as making sure only legitimate services receive reimbursements under the Universal Health Coverage.
She also stated that the law is making health promoters work on stipends that are supported by valid work, backed by real statistics, through the use of digital health platforms in Kenya.
The PS concluded her remarks by stressing an important point: Digital oversight is not longer an option but rather a requirement in re-establishing citizens’ trust in public healthcare and in ensuring that citizens access what they are entitled to in a fraud-free, shortcuts-free, and exploitative situation under Kenya’s developing digital health systems.