Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in Kenya?
In 2026, Kenya scores 49 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 53rd of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 43rd to 74th allowing for scoring error, in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
The person has real controls inside a government or provider system. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is rules for AI in your care (48 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is your say over research use (50 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country).
Kenya's rules promise patients a national record with alerts, logs and consent, but the live system is young, claims-driven and leaky.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
49/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 43rd to 74th, allowing for scoring error
Low confidence. Thin evidence on 5 of the 8 rights: your copy, who sees it, joined-up record, doctors see it and AI rules. The evidence grade rates all our sources together; confidence looks at each right. Neither changes the score.
Questions people ask
Can I see my health record in Kenya?
In 2026, getting your full record scores 55 out of 100 in Kenya; the typical country scores 40 to 45. The 2021 data protection rules make a copy free and due within 7 days, and the Digital Health Agency runs a national portal, Afyangu, showing visits, prescriptions and results. Source: Kenya Law, January 14, 2022, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Kenya?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in Kenya. Control over who sees it scores 44 out of 100 in Kenya; the typical country scores 30. Every visit is copied to a national Shared Health Record, but the rules require client authorisation, an alert on each look-up and an access log. A May 2026 fake entry posted with no alert shows these controls are not yet reliable. Source: Kenya Law, April 11, 2025, and the other sources below.
How does Kenya compare?
In 2026, Kenya scores 49 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Rwanda (44 out of 100), Eswatini (43 out of 100) and Seychelles (43 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Rwanda, Eswatini, Seychelles and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
55
50 · 40 · 40
Control over who sees it20%
44
30 · 35 · 42
Privacy and security15%
55
52 · 55 · 45
One record across your care15%
45
46 · 50 · 52
Protection from sale and ads10%
52
50 · 42 · 40
Doctors see it when treating you10%
42
34 · 45 · 50
Your say over research use5%
50
50 · 46 · 46
Rules for AI in your care5%
48
55 · 25 · 20
Black dot: Kenya. Hollow dots: Rwanda, Eswatini, Seychelles (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Kenya 49 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Kenya need to change to score higher?
Kenya sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. Every right is at or above the typical country. The two with the most room to grow, weighted by how much each counts, are control over who sees it (44 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country) and getting your full record (55 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Control over who sees it: A way to say no to sharing (or to be asked first), a log you can read of who opened your record, and finer choices about who sees what. Together these put this right at 60 to 80 out of 100.
Getting your full record: A national portal that shows most people at least part of their record (a summary, prescriptions, lab results) puts this right at 60 to 75 out of 100. A near-full record that you can download, with a long history and used by most people, puts it at 76 to 90.
Which laws give health record rights in Kenya?
Data Protection Act No. 24 of 2019: Health is sensitive data; access and portability rights; 72-hour breach notice; express consent for commercial use.
Data Protection (General) Regulations 2021: Free access within 7 days; no direct marketing with sensitive data; health care processing kept in Kenya.
Digital Health Act No. 15 of 2023: Creates Digital Health Agency and integrated system; right to a copy; consent withdrawal; offences up to 15 years.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
2.6 2024
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
12.1 2024
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
34.1% 2023
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
December 16, 2025 · Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (Kenya) · archived copy Regulator finds hospital had no way for patients to see or correct records
December 2024 · Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (Kenya) · archived copy Regulator finds weak access controls at a nursing home led to data breaches
In 2026, Kenya scored 49 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 53rd of 198 countries and territories (could be 43rd to 74th), in the Mixed band. Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/kenya/
The 19 sources for Kenya
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
“Digital Health (Health Information Management Procedures) Regulations 2025, Legal Notice 76”
Kenya Law (law or regulation) · Title in English
Dated April 11, 2025 · Link checked October 3, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Protection from sale and ads; Doctors see it when treating you; Your say over research use
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/kenya/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
