SHA gives counties 30 days to secure health facility contracts

The Social Health Authority (SHA) headquarters Nairobi on October 1, 2026. [Jenipher Wachie, Standard]

The Social Health Authority (SHA) has extended existing contracts with county health facilities to October 14, allowing services and claims to continue as facilities complete new contracts.

The extension forms part of an agreement reached Monday between the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors (CoG) over the contracting of public health facilities under the 2026-2029 cycle.

The two sides also agreed to a 30-day compliance moratorium covering five documents, allowing eligible facilities that meet other requirements to secure conditional contracts while they obtain the outstanding documents.

The moratorium covers the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) compliance certificate, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) licence, fire safety compliance certificate, National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) compliance certificate and Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) certificate.

The joint communique signed by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir, who chairs the CoG Health Committee, also sets a 90-day deadline for payment of clean claims.

SHA will pay valid claims within 90 days of receiving them and must notify facilities if payment will not be made by the 14th of the month.
Where a fund lacks sufficient money, affected facilities must receive notification within seven days.

Unpaid clean claims will become certified liabilities and form the first charge on the next appropriation, with settlement required within the same financial year.
The agreement followed a meeting at Afya House in Nairobi between the Ministry of Health, CoG, SHA, the Digital Health Agency and health regulatory bodies.

The parties agreed that each county health facility will maintain its own contract, with the respective County Executive Committee Member for Health coordinating the process and ensuring County Attorney clearance before execution.

SHA will accept several county-level documents for facility contracting, including evidence of county ownership, Kenya Master Health Facility

List registration, county tax compliance documents, NSSF compliance where applicable, data protection registration and audited financial statements.
For Level 4 and Level 5 facilities, SHA will require the facility's latest audited financial statements. Level 2 and Level 3 facilities can use the latest audited county financial statements.

The agreement also requires each county facility to have an official email account on a facility-specific sub-domain of the county's domain. 
Counties without registered domains must obtain the sub-domains by October 14.

Health regulatory licences for laboratories, pharmacies and imaging services remain mandatory for Level 4 and Level 5 facilities where applicable.

At the same time, the agreement allows a facility without one of those licences to be contracted for services it is licensed to provide.

SHA will also run HAKIKA contracting clinics in every county from Monday through October 14 to help facilities complete their applications.

A joint technical committee comprising SHA, CoG and county health departments will oversee implementation and resolve contracting issues.

SHA will provide CoG with weekly updates on the contracting status of county facilities until every eligible facility is contracted.

The CoG will also support Level 5 hospitals to complete their transition to the Health Management Information System (HMIS) by October 30.

The Ministry of Health and CoG will review progress before October 14 and continue consultations on unresolved contracting issues