Linda Jamii is better than Linda Mama, Ruto tells Uhuru

President William Ruto has said his government did not scrap the Linda Mama programme but instead redesigned it into Linda Jamii to provide broader and more sustainable maternal healthcare.

Speaking on Tuesday at Umma University in Kajiado County, President Ruto responded to former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s defence of Linda Mama, saying the initiative was good but needed strengthening.

“Linda Mama was a great programme. We simply built something better and expanded it to Linda Jamii. Nothing has been lost,” President Ruto said.

He explained that Linda Jamii had been created to learn from the experiences of Linda Mama. It ensures  that hospitals are better funded and mothers can access a wider package of services. 

“Linda Mama was good but it only covered the mother. We needed to design a programme that was sustainable and covered more than mothers,” he added.

The remarks came after former President Kenyatta had criticised the new system, insisting Linda Mama had worked well and served millions of women.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale had earlier defended the transition.

He noted that while Linda Mama was launched with good intentions, many mothers were still forced to pay in facilities due to underfunding. 

Mr Duale said Linda Jamii is designed to address such gaps, with expanded services including antenatal care, delivery.

Thet are both normal and Caesarean, postnatal care, essential newborn services, and Anti-D serum for Rhesus-negative mothers.

The CS also announced revised reimbursement rates for hospitals to strengthen delivery of care. 

Facilities will now be reimbursed Sh10,000 for normal deliveries, up from about Sh2,500 under Linda Mama, and Sh30,000 for Caesarean sections, up from Sh5,000.

According to the Ministry of Health, Linda Mama had benefitted more than 7.5 million mothers since its introduction, but challenges such as delayed payments and limited support for hospitals prompted the shift. 

Officials say Linda Jamii, which is being implemented under the Social Health Authority, is better structured to achieve universal health coverage.

President Ruto said the changes are not about politics but about solutions. 

“This is not about losing a programme. It is about making it stronger so that more mothers and children benefit,” he said.