SHA LISTS 39 TREATMENTS FOR GOVERNMENT-FUNDED CARE ABROAD

The Social Health Authority (SHA) has announced that Kenyans requiring specialised care unavailable locally will now have access to government-funded treatment in foreign hospitals.
SHA chief executive Dr Mercy Mwangangi on Tuesday September 16, 2025 revealed that 39 medical procedures—including complex paediatric heart surgeries, pregnancy-related intrauterine transfusions and full femur or tibia replacements—have been identified for funding under the authority’s Overseas Treatment Package.
The government will cover costs of up to Ksh 500,000 per procedure, with the full list of procedures and approved foreign hospitals scheduled to be gazetted on Friday, September 19.
Dr Mwangangi emphasised that only treatments unavailable in Kenya qualify, and that foreign hospitals must be accredited in their own countries and recognised by SHA before patients can be referred.
The announcement comes as SHA rolls out a digitised referral system aimed at streamlining approvals and ensuring follow-up care once patients return home.