For Leonard Patrick Kinyua, a routine day behind the wheel of his private hire vehicle turned into a nightmare when another car lost control and crashed into his vehicle.
The accident left Kinyua with serious injuries to both legs, including a fracture to his left knee and another to his right ankle that required surgery.
As the family breadwinner, his immediate concern after the accident was not only recovery but also how he would settle the mounting medical bills.
The cost of surgery, admission and medication was initially estimated at about KSh300,000 before rising to nearly KSh400,000.
However, Kinyua says his decision to register and pay for the Social Health Authority (SHA) cover helped ease the financial burden. SHA paid KSh148,000 towards his treatment, significantly reducing what he and his family had to raise.
“I was paying for SHA because of my children. I never imagined that one day I would be the one to use it,” Kinyua says.
After recovering and returning to work, the private hire driver says his outlook has changed, with his children doing well and his family slowly returning to normal life.
Accident cover
Kinyua says his experience has also exposed the vulnerability of private hire drivers, many of whom operate without strong welfare structures.
Before the accident, he says some drivers did not belong to a sacco or have access to personal accident insurance, leaving them exposed when emergencies struck.
He now encourages fellow drivers and other Kenyans to establish support mechanisms and register for health cover, warning that accidents and illnesses can happen without warning.
His experience is among the stories being used to demonstrate how health insurance can provide a financial safety net for families confronted with unexpected medical emergencies.
SHA helps Shanzu family
For Ayub Safari, a father of three from Shanzu, the importance of health cover was also shaped by personal experience.
Safari recalls a time when one of his children was injured and he had no money to pay for treatment.
He was forced to seek financial contributions from friends and relatives before the child could receive treatment and eventually recover.
The experience convinced him of the need to have health insurance.
When another of his children was later injured, SHA came to his aid, covering KSh30,000 of the medical expenses. Safari raised an additional KSh5,000 to settle the remaining cost.
He says the experience demonstrated the value of having health cover before an emergency occurs.
Safari hopes the national and county governments will continue working together to strengthen programmes that support vulnerable groups, including children under five, older people and families that cannot afford treatment.
Level 4 hospital brings services closer
Meanwhile, residents of Shanzu Ward say the improvement of healthcare infrastructure in the area has made it easier for them to access treatment.
Mohammed Juma Mwinyi says the presence of Utange Level 4 Hospital has reduced the distance residents have to travel when seeking medical attention.
He says residents can now reach the facility quickly and receive services without enduring the long journeys they previously faced.
Before the hospital was upgraded, Mwinyi says residents had to travel to Makadara for treatment, incurring transport costs and spending long hours in queues before receiving care.
He hopes similar Level 4 facilities can be established closer to other neighbourhoods to ensure more Kenyans can access healthcare services conveniently.
Reduced queues, more nurses
Samir Sharif, a resident of Shanzu Ward, says healthcare services have also improved since the Level 4 facility was brought closer to the community.
He says patients are now served more efficiently, with shorter queues and better sharing of duties among healthcare workers.
Sharif attributes the improvement partly to increased staffing, saying the hospital now has about 60 nurses.
He thanked the national government for investing in Level 4 hospital infrastructure in the area and the facility’s management for creating employment opportunities for local residents.
Before the facility was improved, Sharif says residents had to travel from Shanzu to Makadara Hospital, where a shortage of nurses meant patients often had to wait longer for services.
He urged the government to continue expanding Level 4 hospitals and increasing staffing to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare.
Mothers benefit from maternity services
For mothers in Bamako Maweni, Shanzu Ward, the availability of maternity services at Utange Hospital has brought significant relief.
Mtawale Mwaki says mothers can now access delivery services closer to home, with those registered under SHA able to receive support for maternity care.
She says the availability of the service has eased the difficulties women previously faced when seeking a facility where they could safely deliver their babies.
Before the improvement of Utange Hospital, Mwaki says the local dispensary did not offer maternity services, forcing expectant mothers to be transferred to Makadara.
The situation was particularly difficult for women who could not afford transport or other costs associated with travelling for treatment. Some, she says, ended up giving birth at home because they could not access maternity services nearby.
Mwaki wants the government to increase support for vulnerable mothers and further equip the facility with more beds and doctors to meet growing demand.
The experiences of Kinyua, Safari, Mwinyi, Sharif and Mwaki point to the broader impact of investments in health financing and infrastructure — from protecting families against the cost of unexpected treatment to bringing essential services closer to communities.
For residents who once travelled long distances or relied on friends and relatives to raise money for medical care, improved facilities and health coverage are offering a measure of security when illness, injury or childbirth strikes.
Read: Kahiga Urges Nyeri Residents To Register For SHA
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