By Aisha Down
Publication Date: 2026-05-04 06:00:00
An AI system that predicts how much Kenyans can afford to access healthcare has systematically increased costs for the poor, an investigation has found.
The countrywide healthcare system, a key election promise of President William Ruto, was launched in October 2024 and is intended to replace Kenya’s decades-old national insurance system.
Under the slogan “Accelerating digital transformation,” the project aimed to expand access to healthcare for Kenya’s large informal economy: the day laborers, street vendors, farmers and unpaid workers who make up 83% of the workforce.
“No Kenyan will be left behind,” Ruto told a packed stadium in Kericho during his 2023 presidential campaign, announcing that every citizen would soon have access to affordable healthcare.
But his solution has instead sparked protests and anger as healthcare…
