The gains made in Kenya’s health sector risk being slowed by political divisions unless the national and county governments work together to address staffing gaps, improve industrial relations and protect reforms, Council of Governors Chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi has warned.
Speaking at the Kenya Health Summit 2026 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Abdullahi said both levels of government must now focus on building on the progress already made and ensuring it leads to better healthcare for patients across the country.
He said reforms had recorded progress in primary healthcare, health financing, emergency response, specialised care and digitisation, but warned that the achievements could be undermined if health programmes became political.
“This summit is about consolidating gains, celebrating what we have achieved, taking stock, and charting out the way forward on what else needs to be done,” he said.
Abdullahi said counties had deployed more than 107,800 community health promoters through a 50-50 financing arrangement between the national and county governments.
He said the number of primary care networks had also grown from 89 to 277, while counties had received Sh46 billion since the Social Health Authority (SHA) was introduced.
Of the amount, Sh31.4 billion had been paid to hospitals through the Social Health Insurance Fund, while Sh14.2 billion had been reimbursed to primary healthcare facilities.
The Council of Governors chairperson said 98 per cent of public health facilities had been onboarded onto SHA, with 32.4 million people registered under the Social Health Insurance Fund.
He also pointed to improvements in emergency medical services, saying 304 of the 506 ambulances operated by county governments had been linked to the national ambulance dispatch system.
According to Abdullahi, the expansion of specialised equipment had also improved access to specialised healthcare outside major urban centres. He cited MRI machines, ultrasound machines and blood chemistry equipment among the equipment deployed to support specialised care in the counties.
Despite the progress, he said shortages of health workers and challenges in industrial relations remained major concerns that required joint action by the two levels of government.
Abdullahi also took issue with attempts to make health reforms a political contest, saying programmes aimed at improving healthcare should not be abandoned because of political differences.
“I think what we have failed to fix as a country is the toxicity of our politics,” he said.
He defended SHA, saying the financing system had enabled hospitals in even the most remote parts of the country to receive funds directly.
“I want to confirm that hospitals in the most peripheral of places today receive funding directly from SHA,” he said.
However, Abdullahi said governors now faced the responsibility of ensuring the money reaching counties and health facilities was used to improve patient care rather than being spent on projects such as pavements and renovations.
“This would not have been achievable without SHA, Your Excellency, and without all the policy changes,” he said.
He pledged that the 47 county governments would continue working with the national government, development partners, the private sector, civil society, health workers and communities to strengthen the reforms.
Abdullahi called for “cooperative governance, shared accountability, and accelerated implementation” to ensure that the progress made in the health sector translates into quality healthcare as a right for every Kenyan.