Activist Hanifa Adan has agreed to explore the Social Health Authority (SHA) as an option to fund a much-needed surgery to sort out an ear problem that threatens to make her deaf.
Hanifa decided on Tuesday, March 3, after Kenyans, including President William Ruto’s Aide, Dennis Itumbi, urged her to try out SHA.
The activist had disclosed that most private hospitals required her to pay Ksh1 million for the surgery, but a mission hospital offered to perform it free of charge if she was registered under SHA.
Hanifa rejected Itumbi’s advice to try out the National Health Insurer but caved in when a Kenyan asked her to try it out first before assuming it would not work.
“Surely, in your own words, the hospital recommended you try SHA. Why don’t you try first, then if it fails, you will be vindicated,” the Kenyan posed.
“I will try, of course. Why would I refuse?” Hanifa responded.
Itumbi had advised her to put aside her political differences with the government for the sake of her health.
“SHA works. Do not let “Must Go” activism block you from medical coverage. Get the SHA subscription. Use it. Then come back with your testimony,” Itumbi stated.
Hanifa responded to Itumbi, questioning how SHA would cover a surgery worth Ksh500,000, yet it could not cover a surgery worth Ksh50,000 fully.
The Activist intimated that she had been looking for a hospital that could offer the surgery for about one year.
She first went public about her ear condition in August 2025 when she revealed that she suffered from chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM).
CSOM is a persistent, chronic inflammation in the middle of the ear and mastoid cavity, characterised by ear discharge and a perforated eardrum. The disease can be treated medically through antibiotic drops and an aural cleaning.
In advanced cases, the eardrum can be repaired through surgery – a process known as tympanoplasty. Doctors can also opt to remove the affected mastoid tissue through a mastoidectomy.
