NAIROBI, Kernya, Aug 22 – The Social Health Authority has defended the Sh20 million payment to Homa Bay’s Nyandhiwa Health Centre.
In a statement on Friday, the authority’s Chief Executive Officer Mercy Mwangangi denied reports that the centre was a ‘ghost facility.’
She further pointed out that claims by the 55-year-old hospital were legitimate and verified.
“The disbursement of Sh19,998,720 represents legitimate and accumulated
claims duly processed in line with SHA’s strict verification and payment protocols,” she stated.
“To date, the facility has received Sh751,504 under Primary Health Care (PHC)
and Sh82,080,706 under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), all
acknowledged by the facility. These are accumulated payments from October 2024.”
She pointed out that Nyandiwa Level 4 Hospital, has been operational since the 1970s after the facility formerly Nyandiwa Dispensary and was upgraded to a Level 4 hospital.
“Many facilities across the country that began as dispensaries or sub-district hospitals maintain their original bank account names after upgrading,” she said.
She stated that the abandoned structure shown in the media is one of the incomplete facilities built by a former County administration.
She stated that it has never been contracted by SHA and has no transacting rights.
“The public can access all payments made to facilities on the SHA website, which
are posted after each disbursement. These are not representative of one month’s
claims, since the adjudication and verification process is continuous and happens
at different stages,” she said.
She indicated that the payouts also represent different benefit packages such as inpatient, outpatient, surgical, maternity, dialysis, mental wellness and rehabilitation, medical imaging.
