NHIF Board Appoints New CEO and 6 Directors

The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) has named Elijah Wachira as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), succeeding Samson Kuhora, who held the interim position since April this year.

NHIF Board chair, Michael Kamau, made this announcement, also appointing six directors to key positions.

Among them, Hazel Koitaba takes on the role of Director of Beneficiary and Provider Management, Ibrahim Mohamed becomes the Director of Corporate Services, and Patriken Ole Sankei assumes the position of Director of Internal Audit.

Catherine Mungania now serves as the Director of Legal Services, while Robert Ingasira steps into the role of Director of Financial Services.

These appointments mark a significant change in NHIF’s leadership and are expected to influence the organization’s direction in healthcare management.

Martin Ayoo will also serve as the Information and Communication Technology Director.

According to Board Chair Kamau, the new appointments followed a competitive and open recruitment process, which began with an advertisement on June 27, 2023.

“The new management team brings onboard invaluable wealth of experience that will immensely contribute to the transition of the Fund into its successor,” read part of the statement.

“I thank all staff for their dedication and support accorded to the acting CEO and Senior Management during the interim period.”

The new NHIF boss will now serve for a three-year term with the possibility of a one-year extension at the end of the period. 

On the other hand, the directors will each serve a five-year term and can be retained by the board at the end of their contract based on their performance.

The changes come as the government split NHIF into three; Primary Healthcare Fund, Social Health Insurance Fund and Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund to enhance Universal Health Coverage.

Under the current NHIF model, Kenyans voluntarily contributed to the Fund, which saw many Kenyans miss out on the insurance coverage.

However, with the new model, all Kenyans will contribute to the Social Insurance Fund.