Lodwar- December 5, 2025 (Public Communications and Media Relations)
At least 282 health facility-in-charges and Sub-County Health Management Teams have been sensitized on healthcare financing management including Social Health Authority (SHA) uptake in order to enhance financial autonomy, accountability, and service delivery at the primary health-care level.
The four-day exercise targeting Turkana North, Turkana South, Kibish, Turkana East and Aroo sub-counties, aimed to empower healthcare workers with pre-requisite knowledge on planning, budgeting, financial auditing and resources management in alignment with the Facility Improvement Fund (FIF) and Social Health Authority (SHA) Acts.
The capacity building exercise was facilitated by the County Government of Turkana and supported by Council of Governors’ Directorate of Public Health, AMREF’ Health Africa’s Danida Transcend and Imarisha Jamii projects.
Speaking during the exercise, Deputy Director for Medical Services Bonventure Ameyo, highlighted the significance of the exercise stating it will ensure a reliable flow of funds, enhance management autonomy, and create incentives for quality care, which ultimately leads to better resources and operations.
“Knowledge on health funding ensures timely procurement of essential medicines that will reduce stockouts and enable patients to access these health commodities and services,” he said.
He also emphasised medical facilities should conduct timely license renewal according to the indemnity cover, which requires health facilities to facilitate the renewal process after license expiry in order to conduct SHA registration and other essential health services.
Health Financing Specialist at the Council of Governors, Wafula George, outlined resource mobilisation as among the strategies to upscale health financing through ensuring a 100% SHA claim rate and intensifying household registration across community units.
He added that adherence to clear financial procedures and better financial management capacity at the health facility level will lead to improved budgeting, planning, and transparency at the health facilities.
“This will foster a culture of performance and ensure that funds are well-managed and accounted for,” he said.
According to the latest SHA report, 27 million people are currently registered on SHA with Turkana among the counties with lowest SHA coverage.
The Assistant Director, Health Records and Information, Peter Etee, reviewed the current facility analysis on SHA, outlining that in a population of 926,463, the county has registered 222,259 people which translates to 24% of SHA uptake.
He added the utilisation of political influence through grassroot leaders and even Members of the County Assembly will scale up SHA registration and enable the community to conduct SHA payment through the ward funds. “This will increase uptake of SHA,” he said.
The Assistant Director, Accounts at the Department of Health and Sanitation, Livingstone Eyanae advised the trainees on the importance of having cashbook maintenance and categorization of annual financial transactions, use of store ledgers crucial in financial health, fiscal standing, and regulatory compliance.
The members were informed that the County Assembly of Turkana has passed the Facility Improvement Financing Bill, 2025, that will enable health facilities to collect, retain, and utilize their own source of revenue for operational and maintenance costs.
Present were senior officers from various county government directorates led by the Department of Health and Sanitation and sub-county health management teams.
Development partner representatives present included David Maenge (Sustainable Laboratory Quality Systems, Amref), Evans Otieno (Danida Transcend), Sheila Oto, Charity Karanja, and Kebo Eripon from Council of Governores, and Amadi Junior from NASCOP.
