Kenyan health insurance scheme provides surgery for Somali refugees
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Somali refugees living in the Dadaab camps in Kenya are using the national health insurance scheme provided by the Social Health Authority (SHA) to access medical treatments.
The program allows refugees to register as individuals or families to receive healthcare that would otherwise be unaffordable. Iglan Abdulle Mohamed, a 39 year old mother of 10 children in the Hagadera camp, received gallbladder surgery at Garissa General Hospital in February.
She had suffered from the illness for six years but could not afford the $1,000 procedure until she accessed the insurance scheme. Her children have already received free treatment through the SHA 10 times this year. The scheme also covered a $4,100 surgery for the infant son of Mohamed Abdullahi Jimale.
Because the baby was born with a life-threatening lump on his head, the SHA enabled the family to transfer the child to Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi for specialized care. Jimale, who works for the Danish Refugee Council, earned $88 a month and could not have paid for the operation without the insurance. A programme officer at Alinjuqur private hospital in Hagadera estimates that more than 50,000 refugees have registered with the SHA.
The growth in enrollment follows a decline in healthcare services at aid funded hospitals in the camps due to funding cuts. The government launched the SHA in 2024 to expand healthcare access and reduce costs for eligible citizens and refugees.
