Police officers and prison warders around the country will begin accessing medical services through the Social Health Authority (SHA) in April, as the government seeks to expand the coverage of healthcare services to government servants.
The announcement was made by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on Saturday while speaking in Garissa County. According to Duale, the enrollment of well-disciplined law enforcement agents from the National Police Service (NPS) and Kenya Prisons Service was in realization of President William Ruto’s dream to see Kenya attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
“Beginning April 1, our own security personnel, including police and those from the Kenya prisons, will be enrolled to receive medical cover through this social health plan,” Duale added. “This way, they and their families will receive medical cover from any facility across the country, including public, private, and faith-based facilities.”
Duale claimed that the government’s decision had been based on the experience gained by teachers, who had been enrolled in the SHA scheme as of last year after years of reliance on a private-managed health scheme.
According to the CS, the shift has resulted in a significant increase in the accessibility of health services to teachers.
“But before joining the SHA, the teachers could only access a maximum of 800 facilities,” Mr. Duale says. “Now they can seek treatment in over 9,000 health facilities across the country.”
It is believed that if the same scheme covers policemen and prison employees, similarities will be achieved in its benefits, especially for policemen posted in areas away from major towns where private hospitals are hard to find.
On January 19th, Duale arranged a high-level meeting which congregated officials from different entities in Kenya such as the National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Services, and the Social Health Authority to engineer a smooth transition process.
The meeting agreed upon establishing a joint technical team to iron out the finer details, including the benefit packages, the manner of service delivery, as well as finalizing the transition process without disrupting medical services.
The officials say it is intended to make sure policemen and their families can seamlessly move into this new system.
The CS noted the enrollment of disciplined forces in the SHA is a major component of the government’s Universal Health Coverage initiative with the aim of providing affordable, sustainable, and quality care to all Kenyans.
“This is about equity,” Duale said. “Our officers put their lives on the line every day. Ensuring they can access healthcare anywhere in the country is not a privilege — it is a responsibility of the state.”
This development occurs just a few weeks following the official transition of teachers to SHA on December 1, 2025, as a culmination of extended negotiations between the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and various teachers’ associations such as KNUT and KUPPET.
Initially, concerns were expressed about this policy shift by the unions, but consultations provided a resolution.
In the new setup, more than 400,000 currently are catered to by the Public Officers Medical Scheme Fund, who can access over 9,000 hospitals in the country besides improved inpatient cover limits of Ksh1 million to Ksh3 million every year.
Police and prisons officers are now next in line, and the government seems to be indicating that SHA will be the medical cover that will be provided to public officers, a move that will revolutionize healthcare delivery funded through government coffers in Kenya.
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