Kenyan Network of Cancer Organizations (KENCO) urges Government and SHA to ensure continuous Cancer and NCD services, resolve SHA system failures
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 4…The Kenyan Network of Cancer Organizations (KENCO), Cancer Survivors Association of Kenya (CSAK), NCD Alliance Kenya (NCDAK), Civil Society Organizations and The Kenya Society of Hematology and Oncology (KESHO) while marking World Cancer Day 2025 under the theme “United by Unique” have called on the Government and Social Health Authority (SHA) to take immediate and decisive action to protect and ensure continuity of Cancer and NCD services.
While addressing the Media they raised concerns that transition from National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to Social Health Authority (SHA) has resulted in service disruption putting lives and well-being of Kenyans who depend on uninterrupted medical care in risk.
“Breast Cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the country with over 7,000 new cases and 3,400 deaths annually, with approximately 25.6 percent of these cases are HER2-positive requiring Herceptin drug since transition to SHA patients in Public hospitals such as Kenyatta National Hospital and Kenyatta University Teaching and Refferal Hospital have faced dire shortages of this life saving drug”, they said.
They further raised an alarm that patients are being turned away or forced to seek costly private alternatives with a single dose of Herceptin priced at Ksh 100,000 which is only 3 cycles under the current coverage limit under SHA with also lack of dire essential drugs including chemotherapy drugs such as pertuzumab and letrozole affecting thousands of patients.
“Many Cancer and NCD patients have been denied care or forced to pay out-of-pocket for services previously covered by NHIF, Despite government assurances of a seamless transition numerous patients report being turned away from treatment centres, creating unnecessary financial and health burdens”.
Subsequently they demand immediate transparency of SHA Oncology and NCD coverage, address of system failures and delayed access to care, Financial shortfalls in SHA budget for chronic illnesses, severe delays in radiotherapy treatment and diagnosis delays.
“Prepayments of premiums made under the defunct NHIF should have automatically transferred to SHA, there are cases of patients being told facilities do not know about patients having paid under NHIF and direct patients to pay a fresh under SHA for them to receive treatment”, they stated.
In addition they urge Government and SHA to ensure continuous and uninterrupted access to cancer and NCD services across all public healthcare facilities, make Herceptin available in all public hospitals and revise SHA coverage to ensure full treatment cycles and optimize radiotherapy services by maintaining machines.
Furthermore, they called on the government to increase SHA budget allocation to adequately support and operationalize chronic illnesses fund and primary care fund to support cancer screening services, to invest more in diagnostic infrastructure like PET CT SCAN and ensure all premiums prepayments under NHIF transferred to SHA.
“We urge the Government, SHA and responsible agencies to uphold the fundamental right to health and ensure that no patient is left behind”.
