President William Ruto has unveiled a radical plan to overhaul the way the country buys drugs and other public health sector commodities.
The move is part of the ambitious public health sector priorities that the Kenya Kwanza administration wants to tackle in the next four years as part of Vision 2030 projects.
According to the President’s Fourth Medium Term Plan which covers 2003-2027, the president is planning to establish a new entity that will oversee the procurement of health products.
Under the new order that would do away with the current system, President Ruto’s administration wants to create an agency that will be known as the National Health Procurement Board.
The move is seen as a response to strengthen the management of the procurement of public health sector commodities including drugs and pharmaceuticals.
However, under the Kenya Kwanza Medium Term Plan, it is not clear whether the establishment of the new board will swallow the current Kenya Medical Supplies Agency(Kemsa).
Even though, the MTP released on Thursday speaks to the broader vision of the government to address the procurement mess that has dogged the public health sector.
Kemsa is the government medical logistics provider for Ministries of Medical Services/Public Health-supported health facilities and programmes in Kenya.
Vision 2030 has identified the management of procurement and the supply chain as a major constraint in the effort to deliver equitable, quality and efficient healthcare service.
“Since drugs and other medical supplies are paramount in the delivery of quality health care, there is a need to strengthen KEMSA to be a strategic procurement agency for the entire health sector," reads part of the Vision 2030 recommendations.
In enhancing the capacity and management of Kemsa, vision 2030 recommended that Kemsa should be able to service a pull system for all facilities in Kenya in the next five years.
This was to avoid delays in the supply and delivery of drugs.
Kemsa was also to allow Mission for Essential Drugs (MEDs) to compete for the supply of medical supplies and equipment to health facilities.
The Kemsa regional depots were also to be refurbished and strengthened.
The Kenya Kwanza administration also plans to roll out more projects in the Health sector in the next four years.
For instance, the government wants to employ more health workers including 11,621 for primary health facilities and another 8,379 for health facilities.
The government wants to prioritise the completion of the Comprehensive Cancer Management Centres in Kisii and Nyeri counties and equip the Nyanza Regional Cancer Centre.
