Linda Mama under SHA

Linda Mama under SHA: what changed and what is covered

SHA's FAQ on registering clients for Linda Mama benefits says that under SHA's maternity, newborn and child health services "all deliveries are covered", and that registration "ensures every mother, including underage or indigent mothers, has access to essential services such as outpatient care, critical care, surgeries, and specialized imaging".

SHA's public notice of 11 May 2026, published with Legal Notice No. 78 of 2026, then streamlined maternity at primary facilities:

• All registered beneficiaries have access to free delivery services at Level 2 and Level 3 primary healthcare facilities "on a walk-in, walk-out basis".
• These services are "fully financed through the Primary Healthcare Fund (PHCF) budgetary allocation".
• SHA reimburses facilities KES 10,000 for normal delivery and essential newborn care.
• SHA reimburses facilities KES 30,000 for caesarean sections and essential newborn care.

What SHA pays for pregnancy, delivery and the newborn

From SHA's benefit tariffs page (seen 28 October 2026):

The delivery tariff covers, in SHA's list: midwifery and nursing care, theatre and maternity ward charges with meals, immunisation of the newborn, medicines during the stay and after discharge, laboratory tests, blood products, oxygen and supplies, and postnatal family planning. The Primary Healthcare Fund page adds family planning, neonatal care and anti-D serum to the maternal services it funds.

Delivering at a Level 4, 5 or 6 hospital

At a county referral or national hospital, the delivery is paid under the Social Health Insurance Fund at the same KES 10,000 and KES 30,000 tariffs. SHA's FAQ on using services from registration day gives the rule: SHIF services are accessible "provided payments are up-to-date".

• Check your status before the due date on eligibility.sha.go.ke — our article on how to check SHA status explains what "inactive" means.
• Clear any arrears early: how to pay SHA lists paybill 200222, *147# and Lipa SHA Pole Pole.
• Ask the hospital in writing whether it charges anything above SHA's tariff, especially for a private room or an elective caesarean.

Emergency care for mother or baby is covered under the Emergency, Chronic and Critical Illness Fund, open to registered members and dependants.

How to register for Linda Mama benefits

SHA's answer is short: "Members can use *147# or visit sha.go.ke or afyayangu.go.ke". In practice:

1. Register the mother with her national ID: dial *147# and accept SHA's terms, register on sha.go.ke, or ask for assisted registration at a Huduma Centre, an SHA office or through a community health promoter (SHA registration page). Our SHA registration guide covers the documents.
2. Complete the profile on afyayangu.go.ke: log in with ID and PIN, confirm the OTP and, if you are not salaried, complete the means test.
3. Note your Primary Care Network: the profile lists the facilities where antenatal visits and a free Level 2–3 delivery are covered.
4. Register the baby within 14 days: SHA asks members to "notify SHA within 14 days of birth" and provide a birth notification or birth certificate (SHA FAQ). There is no limit to the number of children you can register.

SHA maternity and private maternity cover

SHA's maternity benefit has no waiting period: SHA says there is no waiting period at contracted facilities once you are registered. Private medical covers sell maternity as an option, usually with a waiting period — Jubilee's J-Care, for example, sets one year (our Jubilee article), and First Assurance publishes its maternity premiums per family (our First Assurance article).

If you hold both, a private maternity limit can pay for what SHA's tariff does not — a private room, a hospital that charges above the tariff — but only if the cover started early enough. Our guide on SHA vs private medical insurance explains how the two combine, and the full SHA package is in what SHA covers.

Sources

1. Social Health Authority — FAQ: How do facilities register clients for Linda Mama benefits? (seen 28 October 2026)
2. Social Health Authority — Public notice "Enhancement of the Benefit Packages", 11 May 2026 (Legal Notice No. 78 of 2026)
3. Social Health Authority — Benefit Tariffs: Primary Healthcare Fund, Social Health Insurance Fund and Emergency, Chronic & Critical Illness Fund (seen 28 October 2026)
4. Social Health Authority — Primary Healthcare Fund (seen 28 October 2026)
5. Social Health Authority — FAQ: Can I register and receive services on the same day? (seen 28 October 2026)
6. Social Health Authority — Register: web, USSD *147# and assisted registration (seen 28 October 2026)
7. Social Health Authority — FAQ: How do I add dependents, and are there limits on the number of children? (seen 28 October 2026)