Health Cabinet Secretary Hon. Aden Duale faced a grilling from governors over what they termed growing confusion, gaps, and pressure points in the registration and rollout of the Social Health Authority (SHA) during the ongoing 2026 Council of Governors (CoG) Retreat in Kilifi.In a charged session chaired by CoG Chairman H.E. Ahmed Abdullahi, governors openly questioned the preparedness of counties to implement SHA, warning that unresolved registration hurdles and weak coordination risk derailing the government’s flagship Universal Health Coverage (UHC) reforms.
The high-stakes three-day retreat, themed “Repositioning the Council for Effective Service Delivery in the Current Political Environment,” has brought together governors from all 47 counties, many of whom demanded clearer timelines, better data integration, and genuine consultation as SHA replaces the old health financing framework.While addressing the forum, CS Duale defended the reforms, presenting updates on Kenya’s health sector under UHC and highlighting the U.S.–Kenya Health Cooperation Framework (2025–2030) as a major boost to system-wide strengthening.
The partnership targets disease surveillance, laboratory capacity, health workforce development, supply chains, digital health, and long-term investments aligned with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).However, governors pushed back, warning that policy ambition is outpacing on-the-ground reality, especially at county facilities where registration bottlenecks, public confusion, and infrastructure gaps persist.
Duale told the retreat that the government is shifting toward multi-year, system-strengthening partnerships under the One Plan, One Budget framework, promising a whole-of-government approach to accelerate equitable and sustainable UHC. County leaders, however, insisted that success will depend on devolution-friendly execution, not just national assurances.
The session drew senior officials including Acting U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Ms. Carla Benini, Director-General for Health Dr. Patrick Amoth, Director of Intergovernmental Relations Dr. Ahmed Omar, Acting KNPHI CEO Dr. Maureen Kamene, NASCOP Head Dr. Andrew Mulwa, CoG CEO Ms. Mary Mwiti, and Mombasa Governor H.E. Abdulswamad Sheriff, Chair of the CoG Health Committee.
As SHA becomes the battleground of Kenya’s health reforms, the Kilifi retreat has exposed rising tension between counties demanding answers and a national government under pressure to prove the system is ready—not just on paper, but in hospitals and clinics across the country.
