The builder's path
For: Patients in Kenya can't tell before they travel which hospitals are still accepting SHA cover.
“Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control.”
Routes to a solution
Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Kenya.
Step 1
Join an impact incubator
Shape a model that pays for itself without excluding the people who need it.
Volunteer data scientists working with social-sector organisations.
Accelerator for tech nonprofits.
Patient capital and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
Fellowships and seed funding for social innovators.
Step 2
Raise patient capital
Impact funds and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
Volunteer data scientists working with social-sector organisations.
Accelerator for tech nonprofits.
Patient capital and fellowships for enterprises serving low-income communities.
Fellowships and seed funding for social innovators.
Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.
Official site for SHA cover, contracted facilities and notices to providers.
Holds facility contracts and portal status, and has warned hospitals against turning patients away.
Represents the private hospitals that have suspended SHA services and knows which members are affected.
Starter prompt
Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.
Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Kenya. Problem: Patients in Kenya can't tell before they travel which hospitals are still accepting SHA cover. Who it hurts: People with SHA cover, especially pregnant women and people with chronic illness, who rely on private and faith-based hospitals near them. The moment it hurts: Arriving at a hospital with a referral or a due date, and being told SHA services are suspended and cash is needed instead. What people do today: Hospitals withdraw SHA services over unpaid claims, often without public notice. Patients find out at the reception desk, then go home or look for cash. Why it is still unsolved: Whether a facility is serving SHA patients changes with each payment dispute, and no public list tracks it week to week. What solved looks like: A public page and SMS line, updated at least weekly from facility reports and patient check-ins, that shows for each county which contracted hospitals are currently treating SHA patients and for which services, with the date each status was last confirmed. Where: Kenya First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions. Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use. Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
Talk to the people who live it before you build.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
ὁ δὲ ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτὸς ἀνθρώπῳ
Get a working version in front of people fast.
Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.
“The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
Open data that fits this problem.
“Lead me from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light.”
असतो मा सद्गमय। तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय।
asato mā sad gamaya, tamaso mā jyotir gamaya
Tools matched to what this problem needs.
“Arise, awake; seek out the wise and learn.”
उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत
uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata
Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.