The government is in discussion with mobile service providers offering mobile money services to have the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) contribution deducted directly from subscribers' mobile wallets.

This was revealed by the Cabinet Secretary for Health Mutahi Kagwe when he spoke to a local media house.

“We are in discussions with mobile money service providers like Safaricom so that when you are doing your daily money transactions, they can deduct something from your transactions if you allow them,” Kagwe said.

Mutahi said it was mandatory for all Kenyans who can afford it to contribute their NHIF payments.

“It is not mandatory, but it is mandatory for anybody who can afford it,” Kagwe said.

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He also said the authorities have many ways of finding out if one can afford NHIF.

“There are many ways of knowing you can afford it. If you are banking Sh20,000 per day from selling mitumba in Gikomba, that does not mean you cannot pay Sh17 every day,” the CS said.

Kagwe urged Kenyans to make small daily contributions to NHIF as a way of appreciating and caring for themselves.

“That is the sort of thinking we must have and appreciate that taking care of one's self is your responsibility,” he added.

This comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the national scale-up of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

UHC is one pillar of the government’s Big Four Agenda.