The Ministry of Health has announced that Social Health Authority (SHA), will now cover mental health services, in a bid to make mental healthcare accessible to every Kenyan.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale made the pronouncement on Wednesday, when he presided over the official opening of the 2nd National Mental Health Conference 2025, focusing on advancing response to Kenya’s mental health needs.
Duale asserted that his Ministry was working tirelessly to reshape the perception of mental health and integrate it into the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
“Through the Taifa Care Model and the Social Health Authority (SHA), mental health services have now been integrated into the national insurance benefits package, ensuring that quality mental healthcare is accessible to every Kenyan,” CS Duale said.
“Guided by the Mental Health Act, 2023 and the Kenya Mental Health Policy, the Ministry of Health continues to reform how mental health is perceived, financed and delivered, anchoring it firmly within Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as a fundamental human right that guarantees dignity, access and protection for all,” he added.
While reaffirming Kenya’s leadership in global mental health advocacy, Duale mentioned plans to devolve the services to grassroot level as a way of building inclusive, sustainable and accessible care systems.
“We are further decentralizing mental health services to the grassroots, supported by 107,000 digitally empowered Community Health Promoters (CHPs) delivering early, person-centered care at the community level,” he said.
He additionally called for a robust cooperation among national and county governments, faith-based institutions, schools and private sector, to build a cohesive and inclusive national response.
Mental health services becomes the latest to be added into the SHA package. Other recent integrations include “Lipa SHA pole pole” for flexible premium payments and also the introduction of the emergency ambulance service.
