Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has come out strongly in defence of the government’s new national health insurance scheme, TaifaCare, following public uproar sparked by a viral video of a 70-year-old cancer patient who accused the Social Health Authority (SHA) of failing to fund his treatment.
Speaking at the official launch of TaifaCare in Nakuru on Wednesday, Duale dismissed the claims made by the patient, Gatamu Waigwa, calling them “false and misleading.”
Duale said SHA records confirmed that Waigwa still had an active insurance premium and advised patients with grievances to follow the official channels for assistance.
“Even that elderly man you saw yesterday on NTV we reviewed the records this morning and found that he still has an active premium,” said Duale.
“If he has any issues, he shouldn’t go to Nation Media. Nation is not a hospital. He should go to the SHA office and seek help from a Community Health Promoter.”
Waigwa, who is battling stage 3 prostate cancer, appeared in a widely shared video on July 22, 2025, saying that the SHA had declined to cover his ongoing cancer treatment and that he had been told services would resume only in the next financial year.
He described the situation as dire, saying many patients like him were being forced to pay out of pocket for critical care.
The elderly patient also accused SHA of reducing the annual cancer coverage compared to what was offered by the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
“NHIF used to cover up to sh 600,000 per year. But when SHA took over, they forced us to migrate and now cover only sh 200,000 a year,” Waigwa said. “SHA robbed us.”
He further claimed that despite writing multiple formal letters to SHA, he never received a response or acknowledgment. “They have never addressed the concerns I raised,” he lamented.
In response, CS Duale reaffirmed that the government would not revert to the NHIF model.
He said previous efforts to implement social health insurance by both Presidents Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta had not succeeded due to structural and policy challenges.
“This SHA plan was first introduced by President Mwai Kibaki but it didn’t succeed.
Then President Uhuru tried again he launched it in four counties: Isiolo, Nyeri, Kisumu, and Machakos. But eventually, he also concluded that it had failed,” Duale stated.
The new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), managed by SHA, covers cancer care under its Chronic Illness and Emergency Care package.
According to the Ministry of Health, full coverage is provided for screening, diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy in public hospitals. Partial funding is extended to private and faith-based facilities.
Additional covered services include lab tests, imaging, and palliative care.
Despite the reassurances, concerns persist among patients and health advocates over implementation gaps, communication breakdowns, and reduced financial ceilings for critical care services under SHA.
As the public discourse around health financing intensifies, many are calling for greater transparency, better grievance redress systems, and more responsive patient engagement under the new TaifaCare program.
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