Bishops call on government to pay debts to Kenya’s Church-run hospitals

Religious groups run nearly 60 per cent of health services in Kenya, which has been badly affected by the sudden halt to US aid and a chaotic transition between health insurance schemes.

Catholic bishops in Kenya urged the government to pay its debts – worth billions of shillings – to faith-based health institutions, warning that the delay in payments made it difficult for the institutions to offer services to poor citizens.

The bishops demanded the payment of the KES 2.5 billion (£15 million) debt, accumulated through the National Health Insurance Fund. The government has replaced the 59-year-old National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) with a new Social Health Authority (SHA).

“As Catholic bishops, we are still very unhappy that our hospitals which serve mainly the underprivileged, are grounding because the government is not keeping its promises to remit funds owed to them,” said Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba of Kisumu, the chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The bishops issued the statement as Makumba led the launch of their Lenten campaign in the coastal city of Mombasa on 28 February. He said the hospitals had received promises after the bishops’ previous appeal in November, but the government payment covered only part of debt.

“We could have served more patients had we received the dues since 2020 … We need commitment from the government on when this amount will be paid and not mere promises,” he said.

Religious groups run nearly 60 per cent of the health services in Kenya, which has been badly affected in recent months by the sudden halt to US aid funding and the chaotic transition from NHIF to SHA involving serious technical glitches, delayed payments and incorrect data.

The bishops said the dangerous and haphazard administration which worsened the health sector’s crisis was undermining the dignity of the sick and threatened the health of the Kenyan population.

“Families are going through painful experiences unable to pay using the SHA scheme. What was the hurry to transition without a good interphase?” asked Makumba in the statement, which also addressed other key concerns, including unexplained abductions and judicial killings, divisive politics and premature election campaigns, ethnic mobilisation, corruption and the rising cost of living.

“As the Church, we categorically condemn all forms of corruption that rob our people of their God-given rights and obstruct the path to a just society,” said the bishops.

At the same time, the bishop said the resilience and determination of the people, coupled with a call for ethical leadership and steadfast faith assured that there is hope.

Kenyan bishops clash with government over corruption charges

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