The Ministry of Health plans to include haemophilia, a bleeding disorder, into the Social Health Authority (SHA) benefits package, hoping to cut treatment costs for some patients in Kenya who currently pay up to Sh130,000 for a single treatment dose.
Medical Services Principal Secretary Ouma Oluga said that the government is working to expand access to care and ensure that haemophilia patients are not excluded due to cost or delayed diagnosis. However, the ministry has not yet revealed the budget allocation or the implementation timeline.
Haemophilia is a rare inherited disorder with no cure that affects the blood’s ability to clot. This exposes patients to prolonged bleeding, internal haemorrhages, joint damage, and, in severe cases, death.
‘We are strengthening hemophilia care by expanding access, integrating it into the SHA, and ensuring that no patient is left behind due to cost or delayed diagnosis,’ said Dr Oluga.
A single child’s dose of clotting factor, the medicine used to control bleeding, costs between Sh50,000 and Sh130,000, depending on severity, while adult doses can be more than double that amount.
Patients requiring preventive treatment, involving regular infusions to avoid bleeding episodes, face lifetime costs running into millions of shillings annually.
According to the Kenya Haemophilia Association (KHA), around 5,000 people in Kenya are living with haemophilia, but only around 1,200 have received a formal diagnosis, a disparity attributed to limited diagnostic capacity and the absence of a national patient registry.
Meanwhile, the KHA, through its treasurer, James Kago, has presented a public petition to the National Assembly, calling for urgent intervention to improve access to diagnosis, treatment, and funding.
The petition proposes the classification of clotting factor concentrates as essential medicines, the establishment of additional treatment centres, and the recognition of haemophilia as a disability, which would enable patients to access support through the National Council for Persons with Disabilities.
‘It’s unfortunate haemophilia is not catered for under the Social Health Authority, and we appeal to the government to factor the condition under SHA,’ said Mr Kago.
Without comprehensive public funding, patients largely depend on donations, which currently only meet around 30 percent of the clotting factor needs of those diagnosed. Consequently, many are forced to rely on blood-derived treatments that require hospitalisation and carry a higher risk.
Treatment options for haemophilia include on-demand clotting factor infusions to manage bleeding episodes and prophylactic regimens, which are administered several times a week to prevent complications such as joint damage.
Currently, however, no clotting factor concentrate is registered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and most public health facilities lack the capacity to diagnose and manage haemophilia.
Newer therapies, including extended half-life products and non-factor treatments such as emicizumab, which is administered via subcutaneous injection, remain largely inaccessible in Kenya.