Dr Peter Kamunyo Gathenge has been appointed the new chief executive officer of the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
He will take over from Nicodemus Odongo, who has acted for over 2 years, after his predecessor Geoffrey Mwangi was arrested and charged with graft related allegations.
Dr Gathenge, a healthcare manager, will be taking over the corner office of the Fund at a time it is facing serious financial challenges and delivery of its’ services.
Until his appointment, Dr. Gathenge was currently the Chief Executive Officer of MedSource Group Limited which represents an innovative way to create private sector opportunities to help deliver quality health services and products to more people.
His professional background encompasses senior management positions at prominent health care institutions in the country, including GlaxoSmithKline, as the country commercial director, Vaccines & Public Institutions Head.
As general manager for Aon Insurance Brokers, he also led the Africa Healthcare Practice Group. For Resolution Insurance’s East Africa operations, he set up the claims, case management, strategy and operations, and information and communication technology departments. He sits on the boards of the East African Healthcare Federation and the Kenya Healthcare Federation.
Dr. Kamunyo holds a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of London, Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery and a Postgraduate Diploma in Sexually Transmitted Infections & HIV management, both from the University of Nairobi.
He is also a fellow with Capacity Building for Effective Healthcare (CBEH) sponsored by GIZ. He holds a certificate of proficiency in insurance.