{"id":140397,"date":"2026-05-09T10:02:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T10:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/former-lsk-boss-faith-odhiambo-slams-sha-system-as-unfair-to-low-income-earners\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T10:02:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T10:02:52","slug":"former-lsk-boss-faith-odhiambo-slams-sha-system-as-unfair-to-low-income-earners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/former-lsk-boss-faith-odhiambo-slams-sha-system-as-unfair-to-low-income-earners\/","title":{"rendered":"Former LSK boss Faith Odhiambo slams SHA system as unfair to low-income earners"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 9 \u2013 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI-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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cA 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,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The LSK president further claimed that concerns about the system\u2019s fairness and effectiveness had been raised before its rollout but were ignored by the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany reports flagged this system as flawed and inequitable before it was even launched. The Government chose to proceed anyway,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

According to Odhiambo, the challenges facing the health scheme are now evident in low contribution rates and reduced access to healthcare services.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, only five million of 22 million registered members pay regularly and Kenyans are dying because they cannot afford to walk into a facility,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The remarks are likely to intensify the ongoing debate surrounding SHA, which replaced the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) as part of the government\u2019s broader universal healthcare reforms.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Odhiambo maintained that technology should be used to promote fairness and human dignity rather than deepen inequality.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 9 \u2013 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140397\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}