Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha has explained why the government is phasing out of the EduAfya Medical scheme, saying they wish to ensure that learners are covered alongside their households.
“Once the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023 becomes operational, the allocated funds of Ksh4.6 billion will be transferred to the Primary Healthcare Fund,” she said.
The CS emphasized the importance of covering all students under their households to avoid a situation where only learners are covered while excluding the rest of family members.
Nakhumicha made these remarks during a working tour of Western Kenya, specifically in Busia County, where a spot-check was conducted to ensure that low-level healthcare facilities have sufficient healthcare workers and medicines.
The EduAfya Medical Scheme was implemented in May 2018 and provided coverage for learners in public secondary schools across the country.
The scheme was supported by the Ministry of Education through the Free Day Secondary Education programme, which paid premiums for over 3.4 million learners. Between 2019 and 2022, the government spent Ksh9.5 billion on the scheme.
The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) announced on November 30, 2023 that the programme would naturally come to an end once NHIF is replaced with a new fund.
By Amos Kerich
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