Makueni Health ECM Joyce Mutua (Standing) during the roll out of the County Mass UHC Registration Exercise. Photo by Andrew Mbuva. 
The Makueni County Government, through its Department of Health, has launched a four-day mass registration exercise aimed at enrolling 200,000 residents into the Social Health Authority (SHA) framework under the county’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme.
The initiative, dubbed Makueni Universal Health Coverage, seeks to identify and support vulnerable households by facilitating their enrollment into the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), with the county government committing to pay premiums for those unable to afford them.
Speaking during the rollout, County Executive Committee Member (ECM) for Health Joyce Mutua said the programme is designed to ensure that no resident is left behind in accessing healthcare services.
“We are looking to identify vulnerable households across Makueni County so that they can be covered under the Social Health Insurance Fund. The county government will pay premiums for those who are not able to meet the cost,” Mutua said.
The registration drive, which runs from February 24 to February 27, is being conducted across all the 30 wards in the county and further cascaded to 390 grassroots clusters to ensure maximum reach.
According to Mutua, the county is working closely with the Social Health Authority (SHA), which is providing technical support during the exercise. Residents are not only being registered but are also given an opportunity to update their details and onboard children who may not yet be captured in the system.
The exercise is being spearheaded by over 6,000 community health promoters who are conducting both SHA registration and proxy means testing — a process used to determine how much each household is required to contribute towards the Social Health Insurance Fund.
“Within the 200,000 residents we are targeting, we will identify indigents and vulnerable households who cannot afford to pay premiums. These are the households the county government will progressively support,” she added.
The initiative is also expected to ease financial strain on county health facilities, particularly Level Four and Level Five hospitals, where many patients have previously required waivers due to inability to settle medical bills.
Chief Officer for Health, Human Resource Management and Administration, Dr. Harvey Mulei Mbithi, said the programme will be implemented in phases, starting with an allocation of Sh90 million in the current financial year.
“This is the first stage of the programme. We have allocated Sh90 million this year, drawn equally from all the 30 wards at Sh3 million per ward. These funds will be used to cover indigent households within our current capacity,” said Dr. Mulei.
He noted that the allocation followed public participation forums, in line with Makueni’s tradition of involving residents in budgetary decisions.
“In Makueni, all our budgets undergo public participation. The people agreed that we start with Sh90 million, and we are confident that once they see the success of this programme, they will support an increased allocation next year,” he said.
Dr. Mulei expressed optimism that the programme would grow progressively in the coming years, enhancing healthcare access and reducing out-of-pocket expenditure for residents.
With the mass registration now underway across the county’s 390 clusters, health officials say the initiative marks a significant step toward achieving universal health coverage and strengthening social protection for vulnerable populations in Makueni.
