President William Ruto has put the record of his administration's health reforms at the centre of his political defence, using a raft of figures on Social Health Authority, primary care and hospital equipment to argue that Kenya's healthcare system has undergone a major transformation under his watch.
Opening the Kenya Health Summit 2026 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, President Ruto said the government had made significant progress towards Universal Health Coverage despite the challenges surrounding the transition from the National Hospital Insurance Fund to SHA.
“Numbers tell the story of the remarkable transformation we have undertaken in Kenya’s health sector over the past three years,” Ruto said.
The President said 32.3 million Kenyans are now registered under SHA, compared with eight million beneficiaries under the defunct NHIF.
Since SHA began operations in October 2024, Ruto said, the authority has received more than Sh209 billion and paid over Sh178 billion to contracted health facilities across the 47 counties.
According to the President, the payments have enabled eight million Kenyans to receive treatment.
The figures form part of an increasingly important political argument for the administration, which has faced criticism over the implementation of SHA, with opposition leaders questioning whether the new system has delivered the affordable healthcare promised by Kenya Kwanza.
Ruto's latest presentation was designed to demonstrate that the government has not merely replaced NHIF with a new insurance scheme, but has fundamentally changed how healthcare is financed and delivered.
The President said the Primary Health Care Fund had received Sh23.3 billion, supporting more than 20 million outpatient visits and benefiting more than 15 million Kenyans.
A further Sh17 billion, he said, had been used to support maternal healthcare, including deliveries.
The administration is also highlighting the number of surgeries carried out under the new system.
Ruto said SHA had facilitated more than 500,000 surgeries across the country and provided treatment to more than 50,000 cancer patients, compared with 7,000 under NHIF.
The number of facilities contracted by SHA has also increased to more than 10,700, a development Ruto said had brought healthcare closer to Kenyans.
But it is the government's investment in grassroots healthcare that could have the greatest political significance.
Ruto said 107,800 Community Health Promoters had been employed in partnership with county governments and had so far reached nine million households.
Their role, he said, was to identify health problems early and connect families with treatment before conditions became more serious.
The President has repeatedly described CHPs as the foundation of his primary healthcare strategy and has promised to equip all 107,800 with new smartphones and modern health kits within 90 days.
“Our Community Health Promoters are the pillar of our primary healthcare at the grassroots and we must therefore support and empower them to serve our people effectively,” he said.
The government is also using investment in medical equipment to demonstrate its health-sector record.
Through the National Equipment Services Programme, Ruto said 850 modern medical equipment units worth Sh9.7 billion had been delivered to hospitals in 44 counties that signed agreements for the equipment.
The equipment includes digital X-ray machines, dialysis equipment, MRI machines, CT scanners and ultrasound machines.
The administration has also pointed to improvements at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority, saying the medicine refill rate has risen to more than 91 per cent from 40 per cent three years ago.
For Ruto, the figures are evidence that the health reforms are beginning to produce results.
But the numbers are also likely to become part of the political debate over his record as the country moves closer to the 2027 General Election.
His opponents have repeatedly challenged the government's presentation of SHA, arguing that registration figures and government expenditure do not necessarily demonstrate that patients are receiving better healthcare.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has been particularly critical of the reforms, arguing that Kenyans should judge SHA by what happens when they seek treatment rather than by the number of people registered.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has similarly used healthcare and the cost of living to challenge the record of the administration he helped bring to power in 2022.
That makes healthcare an increasingly important part of the political contest.
Ruto is seeking to turn the sector into a story of measurable progress — more people registered, more facilities contracted, more surgeries conducted, more equipment delivered and more households reached by CHPs.
His opponents, meanwhile, are likely to focus on the experiences of patients dealing with hospitals, insurance claims, medical bills and shortages.
The President acknowledged that challenges remain but insisted that the government would not abandon its UHC agenda.
“Healthcare is a right for every Kenyan, not a privilege for a few,” he said.
He also thanked county governments, Parliament and development partners for supporting the reforms, while promising to address the outstanding challenges.
The political significance of the summit therefore extends beyond the health sector.
With Ruto preparing to defend his administration's record, the government is increasingly putting hard numbers behind its claim that Kenya is undergoing a transformation.
