Garissa county commissioner Mohamed Mwabudzo has rallied the area residents to come out in large numbers and register for the Social Health Insurance Authority (SHA) for smooth access to medical services.
According to data from SHA, counties in Northern Kenya have the lowest registered numbers, with Garissa county trailing in the country, having registered only 50,000 people.
Mwabudzo wondered why the people are reluctant to register for the health insurance, yet some of them are holding fundraising for medical expenses, while they only need to register, pay the allocated amount and access the services they require.
“Do not let people fool you that the SHA is not good. In case you fall sick, the fund will be a great help for you,” he said.
He called on NGAO officials to work closely with the county administration, and nyumba kumi elders and ensure that more people are registered within the next two months.
Garissa County SHA coordinator, Mohamed Ahmed raised concerns over the inability of the majority of the Community Health Promoters (CHPs) to use the registration gadgets provided by the government and asked the county government or train them for the tasks.
It has come to our attention that we have 2,500 CHPs with gadgets that they are not using to do what they were intended for. If we are to get our county out of the red, we have to immediately change the approach including ensuring that these gadgets are given to individuals who know how to operate them,” Ahmed said.
“In some counties, the political leaders have been in the forefront of getting their citizens to register for SHA. I urge our leaders here, led by the governor, MPs and MCAs to embark on a vigorous enrollment drive in the villages with the help of officials from National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO) to help us register all persons in the county,” he added.
By Erick Kyalo