President William Ruto launched the SHA 922 Lifeline and Kenya’s National Ambulance Dispatch Centre, declaring that no Kenyan will again face the question of ability to pay during a medical emergency.
“From today, whenever a Kenyan faces a medical emergency, the first question will never be whether they can pay. The first duty will be to save life,” the President said on Wednesday.
Calls to the new single national emergency number 922 will be free across every mobile network and accessible even without airtime.
Trained dispatchers will locate the caller, assess the emergency, offer immediate guidance and send the nearest available ambulance.
The Social Health Authority (SHA) has already contracted 1,243 ambulance and emergency service providers, forming the foundation of a coordinated national emergency medical service.
Ambulance evacuation and the first 24 hours of emergency treatment will be covered through the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund for all patients, whether registered with SHA or not.
President Ruto said the system operationalises Article 43(2) of the Constitution, which guarantees that no person shall be denied emergency medical treatment. Healthcare facilities contracted by SHA have been directed not to delay or refuse care over payment or documentation issues.
The National Ambulance Dispatch Centre will coordinate existing public, county, faith-based and private ambulances rather than take ownership of them, with a target to onboard all eligible providers by the end of December 2026.
