Kenyan mothers could soon begin accessing maternity services much closer to home following a new directive issued during the 12th Ordinary Session of the National and County Governments Coordinating Summit held on December 10 at State House, Nairobi.
In one of its most consequential resolutions, the Summit ordered the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors to develop, by the second week of January 2026, a national framework that will allow level two and level three health facilities to begin offering maternity services.
This marks a major shift in Kenya’s primary healthcare strategy, which traditionally reserves delivery services for higher-level hospitals—often leaving expectant mothers in rural and informal settlement areas with long and sometimes dangerous journeys to access skilled care.
"The Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors shall by the second week of January develop a framework for provision of maternity services at level two and three health facilities. In the immediate and subsequently, the associated charges shall be charged on the Primary Health Care Fund (PHCF) under the SHA legal infrastructure," said Ruto in resolutions of the summit.Under the new plan, the cost of the expanded maternity services will be drawn from the Primary Health Care Fund (PHCF), anchored within the Social Health Authority (SHA) legal structure. This move is expected to cushion women from out-of-pocket expenses while reducing congestion at level four and five hospitals.
The directive was part of a wide-ranging communique issued at the close of the Summit, chaired by President William Ruto and attended by the Council of Governors, key ministries, and the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC). The meeting reviewed progress made since the previous Summit and set new targets to deepen devolution and strengthen service delivery.
Health reforms dominated the resolutions, with the Summit also calling for an immediate cancellation of all National Equipment Support Programme (NESP) vendor contracts where no installation has taken place, and ordering prompt payment of stipends for Community Health Promoters. The Ministry of Health was further tasked with harmonising the Persons with Disability Act with the Social Health Insurance Act to ensure consistent access to exempted medical services.
Beyond the health sector, the Summit resolved to accelerate the transfer of pending functions to counties, fast-track disbursements for County Aggregation and Industrial Parks, and ensure that all county personnel emoluments are released by the third day of each month.
At the close of the session, leaders affirmed that strengthening frontline healthcare—starting with maternity services in local clinics—remains central to the country’s broader goal of equitable and people-centred devolution.
