NAIROBI, Kenya, May 9 – Former LSK Chair Faith Odhiambo has sharply criticized the Social Health Authority (SHA), accusing the government of deploying an artificial intelligence-driven healthcare financing system that disproportionately burdens poor Kenyans while favoring the wealthy.
In a statement, Odhiambo said the SHA system, which was introduced as a transformative solution for healthcare financing, has instead become a tool for digital poverty extraction.
“AI-driven Social Health Authority (SHA) was sold to us as a revolution in healthcare financing. However, the algorithm overcharges the poorest Kenyans while undercharging the wealthy,” she said.
She cited the example of a single mother earning KSh3,500 per month allegedly being required to contribute KSh1,030 for health coverage, arguing that the system ignores the harsh economic realities facing vulnerable households.
“A mother struggling to put food on the table is reduced to an affordability score by an opaque algorithm that cannot measure exhaustion, caregiving, vulnerability or survival,” she stated.
Odhiambo linked the issue to broader socio-economic inequalities affecting women, saying poor and working-class mothers already shoulder the invisible burden of unpaid care work while sustaining families and communities.
She argued that instead of easing those pressures, the SHA model has digitised and institutionalised them through what she described as an unfair algorithmic process.
The LSK president further claimed that concerns about the system’s fairness and effectiveness had been raised before its rollout but were ignored by the government.
“Many reports flagged this system as flawed and inequitable before it was even launched. The Government chose to proceed anyway,” she said.
According to Odhiambo, the challenges facing the health scheme are now evident in low contribution rates and reduced access to healthcare services.
“Today, only five million of 22 million registered members pay regularly and Kenyans are dying because they cannot afford to walk into a facility,” she added.
The remarks are likely to intensify the ongoing debate surrounding SHA, which replaced the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) as part of the government’s broader universal healthcare reforms.
Since its rollout, the scheme has faced criticism over technical failures, delays in accessing treatment, contribution calculations and concerns about affordability for low-income earners.
Odhiambo maintained that technology should be used to promote fairness and human dignity rather than deepen inequality.
“Technology should serve human dignity. This one entrenches inequality and calls it algorithmic neutrality. The poor are not data points. They are Kenyans who deserve better healthcare,” she said.