Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has singled out Mombasa County as the national model for healthcare reform adoption, revealing that the coastal city has achieved a staggering 60 percent enrollment rate in the new Social Health Authority (SHA) scheme.

The announcement came during a high-profile tour of the county, where the CS met with Governor Abdulswamad Sheriff Nassir to assess the rollout of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Duale’s revelation underscores a significant shift in public reception toward the government’s health agenda, particularly in urban centers where skepticism has previously run high.

The Coastal Benchmark

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, Mombasa has registered 695,494 residents into the SHA system, a figure that represents nearly 60 percent of the county’s eligible population. This achievement places Governor Nassir’s administration comfortably ahead of other devolved units, setting a "gold standard" for digitization and public mobilization.

"Mombasa leads the nation not just in numbers but in systems," Duale stated during a press briefing at the Governor’s office. "They have digitized key health services, from patient records to claims processing. This is exactly what we envisioned when we designed the Taifa Care model. If Mombasa can do it, there is no excuse for the rest of the country."

• National Context: The CS disclosed that nationwide, over 29 million Kenyans have now been registered under SHA.
• Financial Muscle: The authority has collected Ksh 130.4 billion so far, with Ksh 93.4 billion already disbursed to facilities to settle claims.
• Digital Integration: Over 10,277 health facilities have been fully onboarded onto the national digital health ecosystem.

A "Game Changer" for UHC

Governor Nassir attributed the success to a robust grassroots sensitization campaign and the integration of community health promoters who have been going door-to-door to educate residents. "Health is a devolved function, but the standard of care must be national," Nassir said. "We decided early on that we would not just comply with the new laws but leverage them to ensure no Mombasa resident is denied care due to lack of funds."

The CS also used the opportunity to announce the deployment of 30,087 digital devices to health workers across the country, a move aimed at ensuring real-time reporting and transparency. He emphasized that the era of missing files and "ghost patients" is effectively over, as every interaction is now logged centrally.

As the tour concluded, Duale issued a challenge to other county bosses to emulate Mombasa’s proactive approach. With the SHA rollout entering its critical second phase, the pressure is now on lagging counties to close the gap or risk being left behind in the government’s resource allocation matrix.