The government has set a clear plan to have free maternity services offered at level two and three health facilities by January 2026, directing the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors to prepare the required framework within the first two weeks of that month.
The decision, reached at the 12th National and County Governments Coordinating Summit at State House on Wednesday, places all costs under the Primary Health Care Fund to ease access for expectant mothers.
According to a communique released after the meeting and signed by President William Ruto and Council of Governors Chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi, the two institutions must outline how the maternity services will be delivered under the new structure.
“The Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors shall, by the second week of January, develop a framework for the 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 under the SHA legal infrastructure,” the statement reads.
The summit also agreed on several other changes meant to strengthen the health sector. The Ministry of Health will review the Persons with Disability Act, 2025, to ensure its exemption provisions match those in the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023.
It will also cancel the existing zero-installation vendor contracts under the National Equipment Support Programme to allow new suppliers to deliver and install equipment in public hospitals.
The National Treasury was instructed to release all personnel emolument funds to counties by the third day of every month, while the Controller of Budget has been asked to speed up approval processes. County governments, on their part, must ensure all statutory deductions are settled by the ninth day of every month.
These steps are part of the government’s wider efforts to prevent deaths of mothers and newborns while driving the Universal Health Coverage agenda forward.
Last month, Health CS Aden Duale outlined measures being put in place to tackle deaths among women of reproductive age.
He pointed to the launch of a national Reproductive-Age Mortality Survey to find out the main causes of these deaths, improved use of the Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response system, and tighter standards in triage, referrals, availability of oxygen and blood, theatre readiness, neonatal support, consultation, and respectful maternity care.
“These measures align resources and skills with real-time data to make our interventions timely, targeted, and life-saving,” Duale said during the 4th Graduation Ceremony of the Training Institute of Specialised Nursing at Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital.
He called on all health facilities to ensure their theatres are fully functional, carry out regular emergency drills, and treat respectful maternity care as a core professional responsibility. “Safety must be a system property, not a slogan,” he said.
Duale also said the new efforts support the ongoing reforms under the Fifth Administration’s Universal Health Coverage plan, which aims to strengthen health financing, expand local manufacturing, secure health commodities, digitise health systems, and build a workforce that meets current and future needs.
