Eight months into its rollout, Kenya’s Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) has shown that it is far more than a policy experiment; it is now firmly positioned as the foundation of the country’s next-generation health financing system.
SHIF replaced the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), which had been in operation for over five decades. More importantly, it did so with the universal vision that every Kenyan, regardless of income or employment status, should have access to essential healthcare services.
