Governors have renewed their fight with Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, accusing his ministry and the Social Health Authority (SHA) of crippling county health services by withholding funds.
In a statement issued on Monday, September 29, after the 28th sitting of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC), the Council of Governors (CoG) said counties are yet to receive Ksh10.3 billion in verified claims dating back to 2024.
They warned that the persistent delays have forced counties to dip into their own revenues or divert money meant for development projects just to keep health facilities running.
“Delayed SHA claim reimbursements have strained operations in public hospitals. We direct SHA to immediately settle the outstanding Ksh10.3 billion and work with CoG to establish a structured reimbursement framework,” the governors said in their statement.
The leaders also demanded that the Health Ministry put in place a transparent and timely repayment system, warning that continued delays risk worsening the standoff between national and county governments and undermining national health goals.
Beyond the funding dispute, the governors asked for 1,200 Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities to be equipped with digital tablets to speed up claims processing.
They also pushed for regular training of county health staff, saying many facilities continue to lose claims due to errors linked to poor training and weak digital systems.
Another demand was for counties to be given powers to register new health facilities, including clinics and maternity units. At the moment, the registration is handled by the ministry, a process governors say has delayed the opening of much-needed facilities for months.
“The Ministry of Health should grant counties registration rights for all health facilities, especially to support maternal healthcare for adolescent mothers,” CoG said.
The latest demands come only weeks after governors clashed with the ministry over its decision to absorb more than 7,000 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers into permanent and pensionable terms.
Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, who chairs the CoG Health Committee, argued that the move went against earlier agreements and warned that such absorption should only happen once the government provides enough resources and after payroll functions are fully transferred to counties.
