Council of Governors commits to supporting Level 5 hospitals' move to HMIS by October 30

The Council of Governors (CoG) committed to supporting Level 5 hospitals to complete their transition to the Health Management Information System (HMIS) by 30 October 2026, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on 5 October 2026 after a meeting with the CoG's Health Committee.

The Ministry stated that the pledge was one of several agreements reached when Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale met the committee, which is led by Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir.

What else was agreed at the meeting

The statement said the Cabinet Secretary and the committee agreed that the current Social Health Authority (SHA) contracts, which were extended to 14 October 2026, will not be extended further.

According to the Ministry, the meeting was attended by SHA, the Digital Health Agency (DHA), health-sector regulators and other stakeholders

They met to discuss how the SHA 2026–2029 contracting cycle and a programme called HAKIKA will be carried out, along with new challenges facing the health sector.

The Ministry reported that both the National and County Governments reaffirmed their commitment to making sure eligible public health facilities finish contracting on time and keep giving quality, accessible and uninterrupted services to beneficiaries.

Contracting clinics in every county

The statement said SHA will set up HAKIKA contracting clinics in every county through 14 October.

It added that SHA will give the CoG weekly progress updates until all eligible facilities are contracted.

A Joint Technical Committee will coordinate the work and deal with technical and operational problems, the Ministry said.

It will have members from SHA, the CoG and County Health Departments.

The statement also said each county health facility will keep its own contract with SHA. Payments will continue to go to that facility's Facility Improvement Financing account.

To reduce delays, the Ministry said, SHA will accept relevant documents already held at county level as part of the contracting process.

Thirty days to submit missing papers

According to the Ministry, facilities that meet all other contracting requirements will get 30 days to submit outstanding documents.

These are for the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), fire safety, the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC).

The statement added that this period does not free facilities from their legal compliance duties.

Licences that remain compulsory

The Ministry's statement said licences for laboratory, pharmacy and imaging services remain mandatory.

These are issued by the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board (KMLTTB), the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) and the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority (KENRA).

It stated that facilities will be contracted only for the services they are duly licensed to provide.

The statement also said Level 4 and Level 5 facilities will have three months to meet the compulsory laboratory licensing requirements.

How claims will be paid

On claims, the Ministry said the stakeholders agreed that clean claims will be paid within 90 days of being received, and in the order they came in.

Where available money falls short, it said, unpaid clean claims will be recognised as certified liabilities.

They will be carried forward and settled within the same financial year, depending on the funds appropriated.

Digital health and data

The Ministry reported that the meeting also covered digital health, data protection, the security of county health information and the rollout of the PPB track-and-trace system.

It was in this part of the discussions, according to the statement, that the CoG made its pledge on HMIS for Level 5 hospitals.

The statement said SHA will meet the County Executive Committee Members for Health on 6 October to strengthen coordination and speed up the rollout of HAKIKA across the counties.

Communiqué signed

The Ministry said the meeting ended with the signing of a Joint Communiqué on contracting county public health facilities under the SHA 2026–2029 cycle.

According to the statement, the document sets out a shared commitment by the National and County Governments, SHA, regulators and other stakeholders to strengthen accountability, improve service delivery and make sure eligible county facilities can serve SHA beneficiaries.