Baby Chloe: Kenyan Family Stranded in India as SHA Fails to Settle Bill for 10-Month-Old Baby
- Boniface Nyang'au and his wife, Gladys Nyabonyi, were excited when their child, Chloe Agnes, was born
- However, things changed when baby Chloe was diagnosed with a heart condition, and the only way to save her life was through a surgery that could only be acquired in India
- Nyanga'u was required to raise a sum of KSh 1.65 million for his daughter's treatment and thus moved to seek help from SHA
Faith Chandianya, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and Current Affairs in Kenya
A Kenyan family has been left in despair after the Social Health Authority (SHA) failed to help them settle their 10-month-old baby's medical expenses.
Source: UGC
Chloe Nyang'au suffers from a heart problem, and the only way to save her life was to go to India.
"After a few months, the baby started developing a fever on the head. The baby was found to have a heart defect. From there, we were referred for an operation in India since the procedure is not done locally," Boniface Nyang'au told NTV.
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The family was, however, required to pay a sum of KSh 1.65 million for their child's treatment to commence.
Did Boniface Nyang'au seek help from SHA?
The amount of money was too much for the family to raise, so they sought help from SHA, hoping they would get assistance.
"We went to KMPDC, where they gave us a letter, and then I went to SHA. They received the document, and they told me that whatever they could give to support was KSh 500,000," they said.
However, when the family got to India, things changed. SHA reportedly backed out on its word and failed to remit the promised amount to the Indian Medical facility.
"I went to SHA and told them that the baby is in so much pain and it's an urgent issue. I told him that it has taken a long time since I launched a complaint. This issue is escalating, and if we continue depending on SHA, our people will suffer. At the end of the day, the tickets which I had provided to SHA, they have it, yet they are keeping quiet," a distressed Nyang'au said.
The father started looking for other alternatives to raise money that would help his little daughter get the life-saving surgery.
He eventually got help from a friend who agreed to assist him with the funds in exchange for his logbook.
Boniface expressed his frustration, stating that he had religiously paid the medical cover to NHIF for the past 16 years, and when SHA took over, he paid all his dues until next year.
"Honourable Duale, the money which you promised me, I request you to pay them so that my wife and baby Chloe can have peace and return to Kenya," Boniface said.
How did Health CS Duale respond to Chloe's case?
In response to the allegations, Health CS Aden Duale stated that NHIF is different from SHA. He stated that under SHA, there are specific procedures that must be followed.
The document which confirmed that the little one was eligible for treatment outside the country was then sent to Duale.
However, he denounced the document, stating that it was fake, raising questions about whether SHA approved the funds using a fake document.
SHA fails to pay Michal Makarina's bill
This comes days after Meru politician Michael Makarina spoke of the troubles he went through before he was admitted to the Aghakhan University Hospital.
Source: Facebook
The vocal politician narrated how SHIF failed him at his moment of need. He stated that the hospital could not admit him because SHA was only willing to cater for a small amount of money.
Makarina stated that he was only admitted after the former Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss, George Kinoti, paid for his admission bill.
Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
