Gov’t Rolls Out New Biometric System for Minors

The Ministry of Health has announced the establishment of a new biometric registration system for minors.

In a statement on Wednesday, June 10, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the new digital platform will create a secure and unique link between every child and their medical records.

He noted that the biometric system will enable healthcare providers to access critical patient information regardless of where a child seeks treatment.

"We are establishing a secure link for each child to their health record, eliminating duplicate registrations and misidentification.

"A child's medical history, immunization logs, and treatment records will be accessible at any SHA facility nationwide, allowing medical workers to make faster, informed clinical decisions," the CS said.

The government also expects the technology to help safeguard public healthcare resources by preventing fraud and misuse of benefits.

"Biometric verification enhances institutional security, significantly reducing benefit misuse and ensuring resources go to legitimate beneficiaries," Duale added.

The Ministry of Health further believes the new platform will streamline administrative processes in healthcare facilities, reducing paperwork and shortening patient waiting times.

"This digital system simplifies patient registration, reducing wait times and allowing clinical staff to focus more on patient care instead of paperwork," Duale further said.

Elsewhere, this comes a month after the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) announced a 90-day transition to a fully automated healthcare system as part of a major digital transformation. 

In a statement on Sunday, May 3, KNH CEO Richard Lesiyampe said the transition is intended to align services with the demands of a modern healthcare environment. 

"Kenyatta National Hospital is rolling out a full transition from manual to fully digital systems across all hospital operations. For over 125 years of KNH's existence, patients have relied on outdated paper-based processes. This is no longer compatible with a modern healthcare system," the statement read. 

KNH said the new digital platform, known as Afya Apex, was designed and tailored internally by its own medical and technical teams to reflect existing clinical and operational needs. 

"The new system, known as Afya Apex, has been fully configured and customised by our own staff, including nurses, consultants, and other specialists, in line with clinical and operational processes, ensuring strong ownership and alignment with service delivery needs," the statement added.

KNH said the transition follows several earlier attempts to digitise its operations that did not succeed.

"Since 2012, the Hospital has unsuccessfully deployed three systems as part of its transformation journey. The current rollout of Afya Apex builds on this agenda and marks a decisive shift towards full automation and integration. This one will not fail," the statement continued.

According to the hospital, the rollout started on April 15 and is expected to be completed within 90 days. 

KNH acknowledged that some early operational challenges were experienced, especially in discharge procedures, but said the issues have since been addressed and the platform remains stable.

"The rollout began on April 15 and will be completed within 90 days. While minor teething challenges were experienced, particularly in discharge processes, these have now been resolved. The system has not collapsed; it remains operational and is stabilising as deployment continues," the statement further read.