Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has issued a sharp call for transparency following reports that up to Sh11 billion may have been fraudulently claimed through the Social Health Authority (SHA), raising fresh concerns over the integrity of Kenya’s universal healthcare financing system.
In a statement shared on X, Passaris said the figure was too significant to ignore, noting that such an amount could transform public healthcare by equipping hospitals, purchasing lifesaving medicines, and employing thousands of health workers.
While reaffirming her support for universal healthcare and the SHA framework, she warned that continued mismanagement and corruption risks could erode public trust.
Passaris expressed concern that Kenyans’ salaries are routinely deducted to fund social health programmes, yet service delivery remains poor due to system weaknesses.
She said that whether the money was eventually paid out or blocked, the reported fraudulent activity itself exposed dangerous loopholes within the system that require urgent attention.
The Nairobi lawmaker directly challenged Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to release full SHA payment data to allow public scrutiny.
She cited persistent risks such as ghost patients and fake hospitals, arguing that only full disclosure would help identify leakages, flag fraudulent claims, and safeguard public resources.
“Our healthcare system is in critical condition. It needs urgent CPR,” Passaris said, describing transparency and accountability as the only viable remedy to restore confidence in the scheme.
While acknowledging positive steps taken by the government in the health sector, Passaris stressed that support for government programmes should not silence legitimate criticism.
She framed accountability as a core leadership responsibility rather than political opposition.
Her remarks come amid heightened public debate over the management of the SHA and broader concerns about corruption in public institutions.
Responding to the corruption controversy, Health CS Aden Duale said the Sh11 billion figure relates to claims submitted by healthcare facilities, most of which were flagged as fraudulent.
Duale stated that the SHA system detected the irregular claims through multiple validation and clinical review stages, adding that no payments have been made.
“Facilities made claims amounting to about Sh11 billion. Most of these were fraudulent claims. The system picked them up, went through different validation and clinical reviews, and we are not paying,” Duale said.