Health PS announces return of revamped Linda Mama programme
By Lutta Njomo, August 6, 2024Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni has announced plans to bring back the Linda Mama programme with enhanced benefits.
Speaking on Tuesday August 6, 2024, the PS indicated that the maternal healthcare programme will be reintroduced under the same name but with more benefits to expectant mothers.
PS Muthoni highlighted that Linda Mama will be one of the pillars of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) which is set to replace National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
“This is going to be a stand-alone program under SHIF, just like it used to be, to take care of mothers and babies,” she said.
Expected benefits
According to PS Mary Muthoni, the revamped Linda Mama programme will cater for both normal and caesarean delivery.
She added that the programme will also entail post-delivery care for mothers.
“For normal delivery, the benefit is now Ksh.11,000 while for caesarean delivery, it is going to be Ksh.32,000,”PS Muthoni explained.
The PS added that some monies have been set aside for the enhanced programme to seek more funding as the budget-making process kicks off afresh.
Moreover, she made it clear that there is an ongoing public participation for Kenyans to give their views on what the revamped Linda Mama programme should entail.
The Linda Mama programme was launched in June 2013 by former President Uhuru Kenyatta to alleviate the financial burden on pregnant women. The programme was then embraced by the then First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.
It aimed to provide services based on need rather than the ability to pay, a step towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Kenya.
The Linda Mama programmme was meant to be a pro-poor policy, aiming to benefit those who need it the most. Since the government moved the management of the free maternity program from the Ministry of Health to the NHIF in 2016 and expanded service access to include private providers, the operational efficiency of the program seems to have suffered.
However, since President William Ruto’s administration announced the scrapping of NHIF most expectant mothers were exposed since there was an alternative support model.
However, the Ministry of Health has confirmed plans to integrate Linda Mama into SHIF.