President William Ruto has directed the Ministry of Health to procure and distribute modern smartphones to all Community Health Promoters (CHPs) nationwide, promising to resolve digital infrastructure bottlenecks that have slowed down primary healthcare delivery.

Speaking during an interactive address with frontline healthcare workers at the Statehouse, Nairobi, on Saturday, July 25, 2026, the Head of State acknowledged that ageing and malfunctioning phones were impairing real-time household data collection.

Responding to direct appeals from workers, President Ruto tasked Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to immediately oversee a national rollout.

“Lakini hiyo simu mko nayo inahang, imekuwa mzee, pia imechapa. Mnasema tuwatafutie simu mpya. Ni sawa? Sasa Bwana Duale, simu mpya, twende tutafutie hawa waungwana tuwapatie simu mpya… Na sio CHPs wa Nairobi pekee yao. CHPs wote wa Taifa letu la Kenya wapatiwe simu mpya, na ile simu ya kisasa,” President Ruto declared.

Unlocking digital health infrastructure

The directive is aimed at revitalising the electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS), a central platform deployed across Kenya’s 47 counties to register families, track maternal-child welfare, and digitise medical records.

The nation’s primary healthcare network relies on over 100,000 CHPs equipped with digital kits to capture data at the household level.

However, reports of freezing and outdated mobile hardware have increasingly delayed data synchronisation with county health databases.

Upgrading the devices is designed to stabilise the network, which forms the digital backbone of the government’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda.

Push for higher stipends

Beyond hardware upgrades, President Ruto committed to reviewing the monthly financial packages for health promoters, signaling upcoming negotiations with county chiefs to enhance current allowances.

“Mimi nawatambua. Mimi najua mnafanya kazi ya muhimu. Hiyo stipend yenu, nitaketi chini nione vile naweza kuipanga iongezwe… Hapo mmenipatia homework. Mimi nitaenda niipangie halafu nitawatangazia vile tutafanya. Na nitaketi chini na hawa county governments tukubaliane hiyo kazi itasonga mbele namna gani,” Ruto added.

MPs raise concerns over CHPs gadgets

This comes months after the parliamentary committee raised concerns over the quality and functionality of smartphones distributed to Community Health Promoters (CHPs) under Kenya’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme, with lawmakers claiming that most of the devices have stopped working.

Members of the Departmental Committee on Health, chaired by James Nyikal, questioned the effectiveness of the smartphone rollout programme during deliberations on the State Department for Medical Services’ 2026/2027 budget estimates.

The smartphones were distributed to about 100,000 CHPs across the country in late 2023 to support digital registration, data collection and reporting through the Electronic Community Health Information System.

The concerns emerged during a meeting attended by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, Medical Services Principal Secretary Ouma Oluga and Director General for Health Patrick Amoth.

The disclosure triggered sharp reactions from MPs, including Oron Joshua and Martin Owino, who questioned the value of the investment after reports that many of the devices had failed.

“I interact with the CHPs, including recently, and I confirm that over 60 per cent of the phones distributed to the grassroots health workers do not work. Most of them say they cannot even log on to the gadgets where they are supposed to provide reports,” Oron said