Health advocates have asked the Global Fund to procure all medical supplies for Kenya until the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority is fully reformed.
The fund recently allocated Kenya Sh53.9 billion for 2024-27 to buy HIV, malaria and tuberculosis medical supplies.
It has for years allowed Kenya to procure its supplies through Kemsa while most other countries allowed the fund to procure for them using its wambo.org platform.
The fund uses the platform to buy supplies for many countries in bulk, which means it can negotiate lower prices.
Health economist and head of Kenya Treatment Access Movement James Kamau said Kenya also needs to join the fund’s pooled procurement mechanism.
“Let Global Fund procure the products and give Kemsa authority to simply distribute,” he said.
In 2018, Global Fund praised Kenya’s procurement system, saying Kemsa could also secure lower prices.
“Kemsa, the entity responsible for procurement and distribution of medicines under the grant, is able to procure quality assured medicines through international tender at cheaper rates than international reference prices,” the fund’s office of the inspector general said in a 2018 audit.
“For instance, for some anti-retroviral medicines, Kemsa has secured prices up to 21 per cent lower than those available at the time through the Global Fund’s pooled procurement mechanism,” the audit report noted.
Kamau praised President Ruto for sacking Kemsa management this week, saying this could signal reforms in the authority.
“The turnover of CEOs is extremely high. Let Kemsa be turned into an independent entity away from the Ministry of Health, in the same manner that KRA (Kenya Revenue Authority) works so that there's no meddling,” he said.
Kamau also asked the government to restructure the board to allow representation by consumers, such as people living with HIV.
“It's important and a must that a consumer needs to sit on the board to oversee and help with the direction, being more conversant with things on the ground,” he told the Star.
Separately, health workers said that firing individuals involved in corruption is a reactive measure.
“It's equally important to implement proactive measures to prevent corruption from occurring in the first place,” George Gibore, secretary general of the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers, said.
“The government needs to demonstrate a genuine commitment to combating corruption by not only taking disciplinary actions but also implementing long-term reforms. This will help rebuild public trust, ensure accountability, and create a conducive environment for effective service delivery,” he added.
President William Ruto on Monday evening sacked Public Health Principal Secretary Josephine Mburu, the entire board of Kemsa and suspended chief executive officer Terry Ramadhani over a Sh3.7 billion botched tender.
The tender was for the supply of treated mosquito nets to prevent malaria among millions of low-income households.
To clean up the agency, Nakhumicha also sent home other affected senior staff working under the National Malaria Programme and Kemsa at the Ministry of Health.
Kemsa staff include Martin Wamwea, Lenson Kariuki, Pauline Duya, Livingstone Njuguna and Charles Kariuki Chege, Justus Kinoti, Cosmas Rotich and Anthony Chege.
The CS also moved quickly to reconstitute the board, appointing Hezbon Omollo, alongside Bernard Kipkirui Bett, Jane Masiga and Jane Nyagaturi Mbatia.
(Edited by V. Graham)