President William Samoei Ruto, his Deputy Kithure Kindiki and other senior government officials were yesterday led by PS for Livestock Jonathan Mueke in inspecting the ongoing mass vaccination program and launch the animal restocking initiative for farmers who lost livestock due to the recent drought in Wajir county. The country suffered a loss of over 2.5 million livestock, valued at more than KSh50 billion. The initiative aims to restore livelihoods and strengthen our resilience against future climate challenges.
Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development Mutahi Kagwe yesterday held his first meeting with departmental heads. The discussions focused on enhancing agricultural productivity and boosting farmers’ incomes to contribute to the country’s Food Security goals. The CS emphasized the importance of teamwork and collaboration among departments to achieve a unified vision for agricultural growth. He highlighted the critical role each department plays in creating an environment where farmers thrive, food systems remain resilient, and livelihoods are uplifted.
The CS also urged departmental heads to adopt innovative solutions and strengthen partnerships with stakeholders, development partners, and the private sector to ensure sustainable agricultural practices and improved food systems. The heads led by PS Paul Rono welcomed the CS’s vision and commitment, pledging their support in implementing actionable strategies to improve the sector’s performance and meet the government’s targets.
Former NHIF boss, CPA Geoffrey Gitau Mwangi, who has declared his interest in the Nakuru gubernatorial seat yesterday, met with Biashara traders and their leaders where they discussed strategies for enhancing local businesses. During the meeting, he emphasized his commitment to fostering economic growth, creating job opportunities, and empowering traders through better policies and support systems. He told them that he believes that a prosperous Nakuru begins with thriving businesses and aims to make their needs a top priority.
Tower Sacco has opened a new branch in Nyeri town, Nyeri County. A caravan has been going round the county, sensitizing the local residents on services being offered by the Sacco. The Sacco’s Nyeri branch, which is located along Gakere Road, opposite Nyeri County headquarters and next to Post Bank will officially be opened on Saturday.
The integration of digital health solutions has taken a significant step forward with the SHA Health Provider Portal, which now has 8,813 health facilities enrolled. This represents 56% of the 16,000 active health facilities in Kenya. The Ministry has noted that while larger hospitals have fully embraced the system, some dispensaries and health centers are experiencing challenges due to their previous reliance on manual documentation. To address this, technical support teams have been deployed to counties to assist health facilities in the transition to digital systems. Service utilization data shows that over 804,000 claims, totaling KES 18 billion, have been processed through the portal. Private and faith-based health facilities account for KSh12.2 billion of these claims, while public facilities have submitted claims worth KSh5.8 billion. The number of people accessing primary healthcare under SHA has steadily increased, with 1,064,222 individuals receiving services since October 2024. Pre-authorization requests have also improved significantly, with 427,959 approvals issued, mainly from Level 4 and Level 5 hospitals. The turnaround time for pre-authorization processing has dropped from 526 minutes in December 2024 to 76 minutes, reflecting the Ministry’s commitment to optimizing service delivery.
Kenya has reiterated its commitment to advancing local manufacturing of vaccines, therapeutics, and other health products as part of the continent’s push for self-reliance in healthcare. Speaking at the 2nd Vaccine and Other Health Products Manufacturing Forum in Cairo, Egypt, Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Mr. Harry Kimtai, CBS, emphasized the need for African countries to align policies and investments to support the pharmaceutical and biomanufacturing sectors.
Kimtai highlighted the progress made since the inaugural forum in Marrakech in 2023, including efforts to expand vaccine manufacturing, adopt Africa-specific financing models, and strengthen regulatory frameworks. He acknowledged the signing of key MoUs between regulatory bodies, manufacturers, and training consortia, calling it a critical step toward ensuring the sustainability of Africa’s health products industry. Kenya has emerged as a key player in this space, with over 35 active manufacturing sites catering to national, continental, and global markets. The government has also established the Kenya BioVax Institute to enhance vaccine and biologics production.
A well-coordinated operation by officers from the Transnational Organized Crime Unit and Kitengela Police Station successfully rescued 58 Ethiopian nationals who were being held in a house near the House of Deliverance Center in Kitengela.This follows a tip-off from concerned members of the public, who reported seeing a group of Ethiopians being confined in a maisonette in the said area. Acting on this intelligence, officers swiftly responded and found the victims who appeared weak, malnourished, and without identification documents in the company of two Kenyan suspects, Daniel Nduati Kingoo and Peter Maina Kimemia in the said house. The two were arrested. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the victims had been brought to the house three days earlier and were awaiting transportation to South Africa.
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