At least  23.9 million Kenyans have registered for Taifa Care surpassing the 9 million covered under the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

This is according to the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC), which attributes the record-breaking registrations to a heightened registration drive bringing together the national and county governments following the plan’s rollout in October last year.

“The IBEC noted the remarkable registration of over 23.9 million Kenyans onto Taifa Care, up from approximately 9 million members in the defunct NHIF, and commended the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors (CoG) for their coordinated and collaborative efforts that had not only achieved the milestone registration numbers, but also synergized efforts in the rollout and adoption of Taifa Care countrywide,” the council said in a statement.

Taifa Care, a government-backed Universal Health Care (UHC) plan, aims to grant all Kenyans access to primary and specialised health services upon making contributions determined through a means-testing formula that takes into account income levels.

During the meeting, various ministries, departments, agencies, and county governments faced accusations of delaying remittances of employee contributions to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and blocking the affected public servants from getting health services through the scheme. 

IBEC, chaired by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, met today to review economic issues between the two levels of government including pending bills repayment and equitable revenue sharing.

According to the council, the National Treasury has so far released Sh387.6 billion of the equitable share of revenue to the devolved units, while the balance of Sh30 billion is set for disbursement by Friday, June 27.

Further, the Karen meeting resolved that measures be put in place to ensure that counties fully utilise the funds disbursed.

“To facilitate the absorption of the disbursed funds by County Governments, the National Treasury and the Controller of Budget takes all necessary administrative effort to facilitate County Government expedited access and utilization of funds transferred thereto,” reads part of IBEC’s statement.

Additionally, DP Kindiki and the governors have approved the County Governments Pending Bills Action Plan to help reduce money owed by the counties.