Praxedes Imonje is just an ordinary Kenyan with the heart of a helper. She is disturbed when she sees Kenyans suffer.
And when three of her friends were admitted to ICU, she started a campaign to raise funds to pay their hospital bills. Imonje later discovered she did not need to.
SHA paid their bills. She has now embarked on a campaign to sensitise Kenyans on the importance of SHA and encouraging them to register for the health cover.
Imonje targets 1,500 registrations per day for the next one month.
On Wednesday she launched the campaign and said at least 600 residents of Port Reitz ward in Changamwe constituency had been registered by midday.
“I was inspired to start this campaign because of the things I saw with my friends. I had three friends whose hospital bills were Sh900,000, Sh600,000 and Sh400,000. And they were all paid for by SHA,” she said at Bomu Stadium on Wednesday.
Imonje said there are Kenyans who still do not understand how SHA works and some do but cannot afford to go to a place where they can be registered.
“So I decided I would help bring the services closer to them and even go to their doorsteps if need be,” she said.
“It is better to try something first before we pour cold water on it. If we try it, we will know where it pinches and what should be done to improve it or whether to discard it altogether.”
After Port Reitz, the campaign will move to Kisumu Ndogo, then Kadzandani and Mkomani in Nyali constituency.
It will then move to Likoni constituency in Mtongwe and Shika Adabu wards, after which they will move to Shanzu, Mwakirunge and Majaoni in Kisauni constituency.
“SHA has more benefits than NHIF. NHIF had a lot of limits while SHA does not,” she said.
Imonje said she can take care of her health cover but there are millions of Kenyans who cannot.
She said SHA is there to help these people who cannot take care of their health cover and have to depend on the government.
“However, for government to take care of such people, Kenyans have to pool their resources together. I will contribute the much I can depending in my ability and another Kenyan will contribute the much they can,” Imonje said.
“Eventually, the monies we contribute will go a long way in helping pay the bills of those who ordinarily may not have been able to pay the huge bills.”
Port Reitz MCA Fadhili Makarani said SHA benefits are all-encompassing compared to NHIF.
“The mothers who cried about Linda Mama being scrapped can now get the same benefits under SHA. SHA caters even for caesarian section procedures,” the MCA said.
The Mombasa government under the stewardship of Governor Abdulswamad Nassir has also rolled out a mass registration programme targeting more than 700,000 residents.
Less than 300,000 of the more than 1.3 million Mombasa residents are registered under SHA. MCA Makarani said during the NHIF plan, he used to contribute Sh1,000 to the fund, but now with SHA, he contributes Sh11,000.
This, he said, will go a long way in helping several other people get medical cover as opposed to when he was contributing Sh1,000.
“NHIF used to cater to me and my family. But SHA caters to me, my family and other people with the contribution I make. I don’t regret having that amount deducted from my salary because I believe it will help me, my family and my constituents,” he said.
Port Reitz chief Faraj Kibwana said the SHA programme will help the downtrodden and the vulnerable get decent medical support.
“I also thank Imonje because she has helped convince many of our residents. The registration has been amazing and I see more people coming out to register now,” Kibwana said. Resident Janet Kimanzi said she heard about the registration process through a friend and decided to check it out.
“I had not been registered and when I heard Praxedes explain about SHA, somehow it got to me more than when I heard the other government officials explain,” she said.
Kimanzi said she was reluctant to
register at first because of the doubts
and the hullaballoo around SHA.
