Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has revealed that widespread fraud and instances of double payment led to the government’s decision to scrap the Edu Afya programme, a health insurance scheme for students in public secondary schools.
Appearing before the Senate plenary on Wednesday, Duale explained that the programme had become unsustainable due to rampant misuse.
“As such, it was found to be unsustainable… and the government resolved to consolidate all these special schemes into the Social Health Authority (SHA) benefit package,” he said in response to a query by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna.
The Edu Afya scheme, launched in May 2018, was a partnership between the Ministries of Health and Education and the now-defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). It offered outpatient, inpatient, dental, optical, and emergency care coverage to students, with the government paying an annual premium of Sh1,350 per student.
However, Duale noted that Edu Afya was not the only programme affected, as other schemes under NHIF were also discontinued and merged into the new SHA framework.
“Under SHA, students are now covered as part of a household and eligible to benefit from three key funds — the Primary Health Care Fund, Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund (ECCIF),” he said.
Duale defended the transition to SHA, stating that it is more responsive to the needs of all Kenyans and prioritizes the right to the highest attainable standard of health.
“Under NHIF, patients could be turned away in emergencies if they lacked a deposit. SHA now obligates hospitals to treat all patients immediately, regardless of whether they can pay upfront,” he said.
