Teachers gain fertility treatment under state medical cover, says Mwaura

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The government has added fertility treatment to the public teacher medical scheme as the Social Health Authority expanded health coverage to 30.8 million Kenyans, Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura has said.

Speaking during a press conference in Nairobi, Mwaura said reforms under the Social Health Authority (SHA) had widened access beyond the defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), which covered fewer than eight million people, with teachers now accessing In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) at Nairobi West Hospital under the SHA Mwalimu Comprehensive Cover.

He said the reforms also removed co-payments for teachers, expanded benefits to include specialised treatment abroad and cleared pending claims to strengthen service delivery.

At the same time, Mwaura said the government had released Sh23.4 billion in capitation funds to public schools ahead of the current term to support learning materials and co-curricular activities.

The spokesman said the government had hired 100,000 teachers out of the promised 116,000 and constructed over 23,000 classrooms nationwide, with plans to build 1,600 laboratories as part of ongoing curriculum reforms.

On higher education, Mwaura said the revised university funding model had increased access through scholarships and loans, with funding rising to Sh53.1 billion, while 178,000 student beds were planned under the Affordable Housing Programme.