By Virginia Siebela
More than 54,000 inmates across Kenya have so far been registered under the Social Health Authority (SHA) medical scheme, bringing the government closer to achieving universal healthcare access for the country’s prison population.
This is according to Salome Biako, the Secretary in the Department of Prisons, who revealed that out of the estimated 60,000 inmates in the country, the goal is to have all of them enrolled in the scheme soon. Speaking during a tree-planting exercise at Machakos Prison, Ms. Biako affirmed that the ongoing registration is voluntary and emphasized that no prisoner should be left behind when it comes to accessing healthcare.
She highlighted the significance of the initiative, noting that it will not only guarantee timely medical care for inmates but also ease the financial burden on their families, who in the past have been forced to sell property to cover treatment costs.
“The government is shouldering the entire cost of the SHA registration for inmates, so there should be no barriers. Healthcare is a right that must be enjoyed by all, without discrimination,” said Biako.
On environmental matters, Ms. Biako led the monthly national tree planting drive at the prison and stated that they aim to surpass the government’s national target of planting 7.7 million trees. However, she acknowledged that prolonged drought—particularly in arid and semi-arid regions—remains a major hurdle to tree survival. She appealed to development partners and stakeholders to collaborate with the government in drilling boreholes and supporting water access for sustainable tree growth.
