PS Oluga urges churches to help mobilize Kenyans to pay SHA contributions

Medical Services Principal Secretary Dr. Ouma Oluga has called on the Catholic Church to use its wide influence to encourage Kenyans to contribute to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), under the Social Health Authority (SHA), saying the success of the country’s new healthcare system depends on citizens’ participation.

Speaking during the graduation ceremony of Sister Leonella Consolata Medical College in Nyeri on Friday, Dr. Oluga said the Church has long been a key partner in delivering essential services to Kenyans, particularly in education and healthcare, and therefore has both the moral authority and the platform to drive the conversation on universal health coverage.

“The Catholic Church has been a key pillar of change in this country; not just change of governance, but change of people’s lives,” said the PS.

“They have done it in places that no one would invest in, through education and by building hospitals in forgotten corners of Kenya. When we talk about change, the Church has the moral authority to talk about change, and that means it must also embrace change.”

Dr. Oluga noted that the government’s shift to the new health financing model is part of President William Ruto’s economic transformation agenda, which seeks to make healthcare accessible to all Kenyans, not just those in formal employment.

“For 59 years, we have implemented a system that excluded millions of Kenyans,” he said. “Through the President, healthcare has been placed as an economic transformative agenda — not just about treating people, but transforming the economy.”

The PS outlined four key pillars anchoring the new system, chief among them health financing, which he said requires strong collaboration between the government, citizens, and faith-based institutions.

“We want to engage the Church and faith-based facilities, because you have a big voice every Sunday,” Dr. Oluga stated.

“If we work together in building the domestic resource needed to finance healthcare, we will not fail our obligations to support hospitals in meeting the needs of patients.”

His remarks came in response to an appeal by Archbishop Anthony Muheria of the Nyeri Archdiocese, who urged the government to settle debts owed to faith-based hospitals, saying the arrears had strained their ability to offer essential services.