The Social Health Authority (SHA) has announced a major service interruption affecting its digital health platform, disrupting pre-authorization processes at contracted healthcare facilities across the country.
The outage, caused by a critical system failure on March 1, 2026, has halted essential healthcare service delivery and affected facilities that rely on the system for approvals.
In a public notice dated March 2, 2026, SHA said the disruption stems from downtime affecting the Digital Health Agency’s services, which are critical to its operations.
“We have received notification from our service provider, Digital Health Agency indicating a major incident leading to significant system unavailability,” the notice read.
The authority confirmed that “following a critical system failure on 1st March 2026, the SHA digital platform has experienced a downtime,” adding that the outage has “interrupted essential healthcare service delivery across contracted healthcare facilities, specifically affecting pre-authorization processes.”
SHA acknowledged the impact on healthcare providers and patients, stating, “We understand the critical nature of these services for your daily operations and patient care, and we sincerely apologize for the significant inconvenience and disruption this is causing.”
SHA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mercy Mwangangi said technical teams are working around the clock to restore services.
“Our technical teams, in close collaboration with the Digital Health Agency, are fully mobilized and working with the highest urgency to identify the root cause and restore full functionality as quickly as possible,” she said.
The authority assured healthcare providers that it is committed to resolving the issue promptly and will continue issuing updates.
“Regular updates will be shared with you until full, reliable service restoration is achieved,” the notice added.
The Social Health Authority (SHA) is a Kenyan state corporation created under the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023 to replace National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). Launched on October 1, 2024, it provides universal health coverage through three dedicated funds including the Primary Healthcare Fund, Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), and Emergency, Chronic, and Critical Illness Fund.
