The service will cover emergencies such as cardiac arrest, head injuries, unconsciousness, shock, seizures, strokes, snake bites, and complicated maternity cases
Kenyans are on the brink of a major transformation in emergency healthcare as the Social Health Authority (SHA) prepares to roll out free ambulance evacuation services nationwide, a move expected to significantly reduce preventable deaths and financial hardship during medical emergencies.
The initiative, set to launch in December 2025, will ensure that anyone facing a life-threatening emergency can access timely ambulance evacuation and critical care regardless of their ability to pay or their registration status with SHA or the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
In an exclusive interview with Willow Health Media, SHA Deputy Director for County Coordination, Valentine Morogo, said the new service will operationalise a long-standing constitutional promise.
“The evacuation and ambulance dispatch services, though envisioned, had not been unleashed when the health insurance scheme was rolled out in October last year. The service will ensure all Kenyans and individuals within the boundaries of Kenya access quality emergency care,” Morogo said.
SHA came into force in October 2024 following the enactment of the Social Health Insurance Act 2023, which established three funds: the Primary Health Care Fund, the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and the Emergency and Critical Care Illness Fund (ECCIF). The free ambulance and evacuation services will be covered under ECCIF.
According to Morogo, ECCIF covers emergencies such as accidents, heart attacks, strokes, snake bites and other critical conditions, ensuring that no Kenyan is denied urgent care due to cost.
According to the Kenya Emergency Medical Care Strategy 2020-2025, injuries have become an increasingly important cause of hospital admissions and mortality in Kenya. The leading causes of injury in Kenya include assault (42%), road traffic crashes worsened by the rising number of motorcycles (28%), unspecified soft tissue injury (11%), cut-wounds and dog-bites, falls, burns and poisoning (each less than 10%).
Further, road traffic crashes are the ninth leading cause of mortality in Kenya, with the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) annual road safety report showing that road traffic crashes resulted in approximately 4,748 deaths in 2024 alone.
The strategy shows that there is currently no data on the specific number and location of public ambulances and emergency departments across Kenya or their capacity in terms of human and physical resources to handle medical emergencies.
In most cases, however, patients are transferred to hospitals by private means like cars, trucks or taxis. Others use rudimentary means like wheelbarrows, carts and donkeys, especially in rural areas and informal urban settlements. Few people make it by ambulance given their cost, scarcity and the lack of a well-connected, reliable central dispatch system.
A National Ambulance Dispatch Centre will use geolocation technology to identify the nearest available ambulance
Morogo said the ambulance and evacuation service will be available to all Kenyans, irrespective of whether they are registered with SHA or SHIF, with health experts saying the move could fundamentally change how Kenyans experience emergency care, especially in rural and underserved areas.
“Individuals in need of emergency care will be evacuated to the nearest emergency care centre,” Morogo explained, noting that referrals will be made to certified facilities equipped with theatres and Intensive Care Units (ICUs).
To support the rollout, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) is developing a national database of accredited emergency care centres, ensuring patients are taken to facilities equipped to save lives.
At the heart of the program will be a National Ambulance Dispatch Centre in Nairobi, staffed by trained dispatchers operating around the clock. Using geolocation technology, the centre will identify the nearest available ambulance and the closest prepared emergency care facility.
“After a bystander or caregiver calls for evacuation services, the dispatcher will know which ambulance and emergency care facilities are closest. They will check for preparedness of the emergency care unit to receive the patient and coordinate the process,” Morogo said.
While challenges such as poor road networks in remote areas are anticipated, Morogo said SHA is confident that technology and local landmarks like schools and churches will help bridge access gaps as the system matures.
KMPDC is already vetting ambulances owned by county governments, private providers, hospitals and faith-based organisations. The accredited ambulances will enter formal contracts with SHA.
SHA will reimburse ambulance providers Ksh4,500 for the first 25 kilometres and Ksh75 for every additional kilometre
“A study by the World Health Organisation established that we could have approximately 200 evacuation calls per day, but we will conduct another study to establish more accurate numbers after rollout,” Morogo added.
The evacuation services will cover emergencies, including cardiac arrest, head injuries, shock, unconsciousness, seizures, strokes, snake bites, and complicated maternity cases.
Ambulance providers will be reimbursed Ksh4,500 for the first 25 kilometres and Ksh75 for every additional kilometre, figures that were computed by actuarial experts, with SHA committing to fast-tracked claims processing.
“Immediately the patient is delivered to the emergency care centre, the claim process begins to ensure they are paid within the shortest time possible,” Morogo said.
The free emergency care will be capped at 24 hours, after which patients are expected to be stabilised and transition to SHIF coverage for continued treatment.
SHA has already secured a toll-free emergency number 922 from the Communications Authority of Kenya, with a National Ambulance Dispatch Centre manned by dispatchers who have undergone two months of specialised training.
Addressing concerns about coordination with county governments, Morogo emphasised that the program is about saving lives.
“We understand that health is devolved. We will just take care of evacuation and be in control of what we dispatch, who qualifies for emergency ambulance evacuation and be sure they get expected care,” she said.
SHA CEO Dr Mercy Mwangangi echoed the collaborative approach, noting that county ambulances will play a central role.
“Ambulances offer community-level emergency services; SHA will only establish the National Ambulance Dispatch Centre as a coordinating framework, which will also act primarily as a claims centre for dispatches,” Mwangangi said.
As SHA continues to engage counties on fuel, maintenance and reimbursement challenges, the free ambulance evacuation programme has been hailed as a potential game-changer, bringing Kenya closer to universal, equitable and life-saving emergency healthcare for all.
