Africa Uncensored demands more answers from SHA After exposé
By Cynthia Lodite, May 7, 2026Africa Uncensored is now demanding more answers from the Social Health Authority (SHA) while maintaining that the Authority has not adequately responded to key questions raised in its documentary on Kenya’s new health financing model.
In a statement on Wednesday, May 7, 2026, Africa Uncensored maintains that concerns over the fairness of the means-testing system remain unresolved despite a statement released by the Social Health Authority.
“Africa Uncensored and Lighthouse Reports appreciate that the Social Health Authority’s management took the time to respond to our publication,” Africa Uncensored said.
The organisations explained that before publishing their documentary titled Error by Design on Monday, May 4, 2026, they had submitted a detailed set of questions to SHA, but did not receive a response until after publication.
“We also welcome rigorous public discourse and exchange, which is why we submitted a detailed series of questions to SHA before publishing on Monday 4th May, 2026, which did not receive a response until now,” read the statement in part.
Africa Uncensored queries
The Organisation stated that it believes the response by SHA does not substantively address those questions it had earlier submitted and does not refute its findings.
Worth noting: in the investigation, a 49-minute documentary argues that the system is flawed and disadvantages low-income earners, and alleges that government officials were aware of the weaknesses before the rollout of the SHA programme.
Hence, following the findings by Africa Uncensored, the organisation has called on SHA to respond to the submitted questions in detail.
Among the queries are key details around the equity of the model, including for low-income households, and key design decisions that influenced outcomes therein
“We encourage SHA to respond to the submitted questions in detail, which, among other things, ask for key details around the equitability of the model including for low-income households — and key design decisions that influenced outcomes therein,” the Organisation stated.
The Organisation has demanded that the public has the right to understand how unsupervised algorithms make decisions about them.
“We would direct you again to our reporting, findings, methodology, and our initial right of reply,” they added.
SHA’s previous response
In its response on Wednesday, SHA defended its means-testing model, saying replacing the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) was necessary to address long-standing structural weaknesses and inequalities in the previous system.
SHA maintained that the current system is designed to protect low-income households and ensure fairness in contributions.
The Authority noted that 92 per cent of households in the informal sector are assessed at Sh850 or less monthly. It further broke this down, indicating that 45 per cent fall within the Sh300–Sh500 range, while 47 per cent are assessed between Sh501–Sh850.