How does SHA Lipa Pole Pole work?

2-year payment plan for members with arrears. Pay the first 4 months' contributions upfront in one lump sum, then spread the remaining 20 monthly contributions across daily, weekly, or monthly instalments via M-PESA Ratiba (*254#) or Paybill 200222. No interest.

Does my SHA cover activate the moment I enrol in Lipa Pole Pole?

No. Coverage activates only after the first 4 months' contributions are fully paid. Enrolling alone does not trigger cover.

Who qualifies for Lipa Pole Pole?

Primarily Tier 2 non-salaried Kenyans (informal sector, self-employed, unemployed) who have accumulated SHA arrears and want a structured way to catch up. Enrolment is via afyayangu.go.ke or a SHA branch.

Is there interest on Lipa Pole Pole?

No. Per sha.go.ke/lipa-pole-pole (accessed 26 August 2026), the plan carries no interest. You pay the same 24 months of contributions you would have paid anyway, just spread over time.

What if I cannot afford the 4-month upfront amount?

For someone at the KES 300 floor, 4 months is KES 1,200. If even that is out of reach, options are limited: contact a Community Health Volunteer or Huduma Centre for indigent-assessment referral to the Primary Healthcare Fund, or wait to enrol until you can raise the upfront amount.

SHA Lipa Pole Pole: 2-year instalment Kenya 2026

What Lipa Pole Pole is

SHA launched Lipa Pole Pole (Swahili for "pay slowly") to unstick a real problem: many Tier 2 members had fallen months or years behind on contributions, and the standard KES 300-per-month path forward, plus the 2% penalty stack, felt impossible to catch up on all at once.

The scheme is a structured, interest-free way to pay 24 months' worth of contributions on a 2-year runway that starts with a partial lump sum. It is not a loan, no extra amount is added. It is a scheduling accommodation on money you already owe or will owe.

The mechanics, exactly

Step 1: 4 months upfront

The scheme starts with an upfront lump sum equal to 4 months of your assessed contribution. For a KES 300 minimum member, that is KES 1,200. For a Tier 2 member assessed at KES 800/month, that is KES 3,200. You pay this the moment you enrol.

Payment is to Paybill 200222 with your National ID as account, same as any SHA payment. See /paybill/sha.

Step 2: coverage activates when the 4 months clear

This is the point most guides miss. Signing up for Lipa Pole Pole does not, by itself, restore your SHA coverage. Coverage reactivates only once the full upfront amount is credited to your SHA record. Which means: if you enrol on Monday and pay the 4 months on Monday, coverage is typically on by end of week (subject to the standard 24 to 72 hour reconciliation window, see how to check your SHA payment).

If you enrol but delay paying the upfront amount, you remain uninsured until it clears. This matters if you are enrolling because you need treatment tomorrow, do not enrol first, pay first.

Step 3: 20 monthly instalments over the next 20 months

After the upfront 4 months, you owe 20 more monthly contributions to complete the 24-month cycle. SHA lets you break each monthly amount into daily, weekly, or monthly transfers, whichever suits your cash flow. Two payment rails:

M-PESA Ratiba on *254#. Set up a standing-order-style recurring debit that sends a fixed amount to SHA on a fixed schedule (daily, weekly, monthly). Common for boda riders and market vendors who prefer daily bites to a monthly lump. Note: *254# is a Safaricom-managed shortcut and works only on Safaricom lines.
Direct Paybill 200222 payments. No automation, just pay 200222 whenever suits, in any amount, so long as the monthly target is met by month end. Works on any M-PESA-enabled line.

Step 4: continue rolling

The scheme runs for 24 months from enrolment. If you fall behind on the recurring instalment, arrears accrue again and the 2% penalty under section 27(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act 2023 applies [Source 2]. See SHA arrears and penalty for how that compounds.

Worked example

Mama Njeri is a mama mboga in Nakuru. Her Tier 2 SHA assessment is at the KES 300 floor. She has not paid SHA since October 2024. She wants to catch up so she can access treatment for a chronic condition.

She enrols in Lipa Pole Pole on 1 September 2026:

Upfront: 4 × KES 300 = KES 1,200. She pays to Paybill 200222 on 1 September.
Coverage activation: Payment reconciles within 72 hours. She is covered from around 4 September.
Remaining schedule: 20 months × KES 300 = KES 6,000, spread from October 2026 to May 2028. She sets up M-PESA Ratiba on *254# to send KES 10/day to Paybill 200222.
What she still owes from before September 2026: arrears from October 2024 to August 2026 (23 months × KES 300 = KES 6,900) plus accumulated 2% monthly penalties. Lipa Pole Pole is a going-forward payment plan, not an arrears write-off, so this old balance sits on her record until cleared separately or resolved with SHA. The 2026 SHA guidance for someone in her position is to focus on activating current cover via the 4-month rule and address historic arrears in a separate branch visit.

Who qualifies

Lipa Pole Pole is aimed at Tier 2 non-salaried members. Boda riders, mama mboga, freelancers, hustlers, seasonal workers, the unemployed. Salaried Tier 1 employees generally do not use it because their contributions are deducted from gross pay by the employer and remitted monthly, there is no gap to fill.

If you are salaried but a personal-arrears gap exists (from a spell of unemployment before your current job, for example), a one-off Paybill 200222 payment or a branch visit is usually a cleaner fix than enrolling in Lipa Pole Pole. See SHA arrears and 2% penalty.

How to enrol

Two paths per sha.go.ke:

Online. Log into afyayangu.go.ke with your National ID, choose Lipa Pole Pole from the payment options, review your plan and confirm.
In person. Visit any SHA branch or Huduma Centre with your original National ID. A SHA agent enrols you and captures your preferred instalment cadence.

Also: dial *147# to check whether your account is currently opted in and to see the schedule. Full USSD menu: SHA USSD guide.

If you cannot afford the 4-month upfront

At the KES 300 floor, 4 months is KES 1,200. For many Kenyans, that is still a real hurdle. Options:

Family or a friend pays for you. Anyone can pay SHA on behalf of anyone else, so long as they use your National ID in the paybill account field. See How to pay SHA for someone else.
Indigent-assessment referral. If you have no income and cannot pay, ask a Community Health Volunteer or your nearest Huduma Centre about indigent assessment. Verified indigents are covered by the Primary Healthcare Fund at state expense per sha.go.ke [Source 3].
Delay enrolment. Enrolling before you can pay leaves you uncovered but on the hook. Waiting until you have KES 1,200 saved changes little in coverage terms and keeps the paperwork simple.

What Lipa Pole Pole is not

Not a loan. No credit is extended, no interest is charged, no CRB implications.
Not an amnesty. Historic arrears and penalties still sit on your record until settled or negotiated separately.
Not automatic. You must enrol. Simply owing SHA money does not put you on the scheme.
Not for hospital-day emergencies. If you need cover for a hospital visit tomorrow and you have no active SHA, enrolling today does not activate cover today. Coverage waits for the 4-month upfront to clear.

Sources

SHA Lipa Pole Pole scheme details: sha.go.ke/lipa-pole-pole, accessed 26 August 2026.
Social Health Insurance Act 2023, section 27(6): 2% late-payment penalty on unremitted contributions.
Primary Healthcare Fund and state-funded indigent coverage: sha.go.ke/primary-healthcare-fund, accessed 26 August 2026.
SHA premium rates and KES 300 floor: sha.go.ke/premium-rates, accessed 26 August 2026.
M-PESA Ratiba shortcut *254# (Safaricom standing-order service), used by SHA per sha.go.ke/lipa-pole-pole.
SHA member portal afyayangu.go.ke, toll-free helpline 0800 720 601.