The Central Organization of Trade Unions (Kenya), COTU (K), has expressed concern over challenges facing the Social Health Authority (SHA), blaming the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Digital Health Authority (DHA) for undermining its independence.
COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli on Tuesday said the union has unsuccessfully sought a meeting with Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale for the past month to discuss the matter.
“The core challenge facing SHA is that its operations depend entirely on an IT platform controlled by the DHA and MoH, instead of being independently managed by SHA itself,” Atwoli said. “This is despite SHA being established through an independent Act of Parliament that does not place it under either the DHA or MoH.”
Atwoli, who represents workers on the SHA Board, said the authority has been reduced to a “conveyor belt” for processing payments without the ability to verify hospital claims. He warned that this exposes SHA to blame for problems caused by systems it does not control.
“As workers, we contribute faithfully to the Social Health Insurance with the understanding that SHA is in charge of our funds. It is unacceptable that workers’ hard-earned money is managed through an amorphous arrangement,” he added.
COTU is now demanding that SHA be given full control of its IT systems to restore confidence among workers. Atwoli warned that the union is considering withdrawing from the SHA Board if no action is taken and will soon convene a meeting at Tom Mboya Labour College to deliberate on its next steps.
SHA has recently faced growing criticism over fraud and irregular payments to non-existent or inactive health facilities.
On Monday, Health CS Aden Duale said 45 hospitals are set to be de-gazetted over fraudulent activities, while 40 others had already been suspended earlier.
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