The Kenya Diaspora Alliance Welfare Association (KWA) has launched a medical insurance product that seeks to addresses a long-standing gap in healthcare needs for thousands of family members of Kenyans living and working abroad.

In an update on Wednesday, KWA said Kenyans in the diaspora have long carried the financial and emotional strain of medical emergencies among loved ones back home.

Quite often, informal fundraising efforts have become the go to option to meet urgent medical bills for loved ones, necessitating the need for structured healthcare support.

The new product has been developed by KWA in collaboration with Jubilee Health Insurance, BUPA Global, and Kenbright Insurance Brokers. 

The new diaspora medical cover now formalizes that safety net, providing structured access to medical care for families in Kenya and for diaspora members wherever they are in the world.

According to Jubilee Health Insurance CEO Njeri Jomo, the insurer's role is in now connecting care across borders at a time when the National Health Insurance Fund is in active transition to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and the Universal Health Coverage framework is still evolving.

“Health insurance is no longer confined by geography. Families today live across continents, but their care needs remain connected. Our partnership with KDA and BUPA is about making that continuity possible through one integrated system,” said Ms Jomo.

Kenya Diaspora Alliance (KDA) global chairman Dr. Shem Ochuodho said that the new product responds directly to the needs of KDA members. “It gives Kenyans abroad a reliable, formal way to ensure their families back home have access to care without the distress that often accompanies medical crises.” 

Mr. Uditha Jayaratne, CEO and Principal Officer of BUPA Global Kenya, the diaspora cover will lean on BUPA Global’s international reach, giving diaspora members access to over 2.4 million healthcare providers worldwide, including leading hospitals and specialists.

According to the Central Bank of Kenya, diaspora remittances crossed US$5.8 billion in 2024 where most of it was directed toward household welfare, including healthcare. Yet, until now, there has been limited integration of insurance solutions that link those remittances to sustainable medical coverage.

Recent studies by the African Development Bank and the International Organization for Migration show that healthcare is among the top three spending priorities for Kenyans abroad, after education and housing.

About 60 percent of Kenyan households receiving remittances spend part of it on hospital bills or medical emergencies. 

This new solution directly addresses that gap by offering predictable, pooled health coverage that reduces the financial shock of illness and strengthens family resilience across borders.

[email protected]