By the NGOs.ke Editorial Team.
Kenya’s roughly 107,800 community health promoters (CHPs) are now being enrolled in the Social Health Authority (SHA), with the government saying it has released Sh396 million for their cover. Each promoter is meant to receive a Sh5,000 monthly stipend, split equally between county and national government. For NGOs, the practical question this October 2026 is where partners can plug gaps: unpaid stipends in some counties, missing kits, and data reporting.
What changed for community health promoters in 2026?
After the 18 August health summit, the Ministry of Health said SHA had verified the names of CHPs and uploaded them to the digital health system. The Standard reported that the Public Health Principal Secretary wrote to SHA’s chief executive confirming the Sh396 million, drawn from the 2026/27 budget, had been remitted to SHA’s account. The cover is meant to extend to the promoters’ families.
Cover reaches from Level 2 facilities up to Level 6 referral hospitals, and promoters can also use private and faith-based hospitals accredited by SHA. That last point matters to NGOs that run mission or community clinics, because they may see promoters and their relatives arriving as SHA patients.
Key facts at a glance
- Number of CHPs: about 107,800, rolled out nationally from October 2023.
- Stipend: Sh5,000 a month, shared equally between county and national governments (Sh2,500 each), as set out when the stipend was launched in February 2024.
- Health cover: Sh396 million released to SHA for 2026/27, covering promoters and their families.
- Reach so far: about nine million households visited and roughly 750,000 people referred for further care, according to government figures reported in August 2026.
- Equipment: 7,800 kits handed out at the summit, mostly to promoters who missed the original 2023 supplies, with a pledge to supply or replace kits for all 107,800 within 90 days.
Are CHPs actually being paid on time?
Not everywhere. In May 2026, promoters in Kajiado County told The Standard their stipends had gone unpaid since 2023, and some said the unpaid work had strained their households. The article did not give a stipend amount or any county response, so treat it as one county’s account rather than a national audit. It does show why the split between county and national money is the weak point: when a county budget line stalls, the promoter in the village absorbs the delay.
If the 90-day equipment pledge runs from the 18 August summit, our own arithmetic puts the deadline around mid-November 2026. That is a date worth tracking if your organisation works with promoters.
Where can NGOs help without duplicating the state?
Promoters are public-sector programme staff in practice, so NGOs should avoid creating parallel payment systems. The more useful roles are narrower:
- Verification and tracking: keep a simple, county-by-county log of stipend and kit delivery from your own partner promoters, and share patterns with the county health office rather than only with donors.
- Training and supervision: support refresher training on screening for hypertension, diabetes and malaria, the tasks promoters are already doing.
- Data and referrals: help promoters use digital reporting tools well. The government plans phones and kits for data reporting, so skills matter as much as devices.
- SHA onboarding: help promoters’ families confirm their cover works at the facility level.
Amref Health Africa has publicly committed to advocacy and technical assistance on community health since the stipend launch, which is a useful model for how a civil-society partner can work alongside the Ministry. See Amref’s account of the February 2024 launch for the original commitments.
For background, read our earlier pieces on community health workers and what NGO clinics must do for SHA’s HMIS, and on how health funding shifts affect NGO programmes.
What should NGOs watch before the end of 2026?
- Whether SHA enrolment of promoters and families is visible at facilities, not just announced.
- Whether the promised kits and phones reach your partner counties inside the 90-day window.
- Whether county budgets actually release their Sh2,500 share each month.
- Universal Health Coverage Day on 12 December, a natural moment to publish what you have tracked.
FAQ
How much is a community health promoter’s stipend in Kenya?
Sh5,000 a month, shared equally between the county and national governments, according to reporting by The Standard and Amref.
How many community health promoters are there?
About 107,800 nationwide, deployed since October 2023.
Do CHPs get SHA cover?
Yes. The government says Sh396 million has been sent to SHA to cover promoters and their families at SHA-accredited public, private and faith-based facilities.
Why are some promoters still unpaid?
Stipends depend partly on county releases. Promoters in Kajiado said in May 2026 that payments had been overdue since 2023; the county had not been quoted in that report.
Can an NGO pay community health promoters directly?
Nothing in the sources we reviewed addresses this. Confirm with your county health department before offering incentives, so you do not conflict with the public stipend.
Sources: The Standard (Mercy Kahenda, 2026; Josphat Kinyanjui, 22 May 2026); Amref Health Africa newsroom, 19 February 2024. Figures reflect those reports as of 27 October 2026.
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