The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) will now cover free maternity healthcare for expectant mothers hailing from backgrounds considered poor and underprivileged.
Speaking at the launch of the Sh4 billion programme in Nairobi on Tuesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta said that the scheme will see that expectant mothers get at least four antenatal check-ups, free delivery (both normal and caesarean section) as well as post-natal check-ups and child immunisation.
The programme will see the government spend about Sh6 000 per woman and this will be credited on the NHIF card and redeemed in a health facility.
This is seen as an improvement of the government’s 2013 scheme where counties were reimbursed for every delivery but there still arose the problem of delayed reimbursements.