- Operations directorate has been urged to fast track processing of all orders before closing for stock take.
- Kemsa appealed to the counties to make good their payment promises by clearing all outstanding debts.
Image: HANDOUT
Orders for Health Products and Technologies (HPTs ) at Kenya Medical Supplies Agency have hit Sh710 million ahead of the annual stock take at the facility.
Orders trickled in as counties rushed to place their requests by July 3, 2023, when the agency temporarily suspends its operations in order to undertake stocktaking.
However, emergency supplies will be handled on a need basis.
Beginning June, Kemsa received and processed HPT’s orders from various counties including; Siaya (Sh44.5 million), Machakos (Sh45 million), Bomet (Sh65 million), Meru (Sh68 million), Embu (Sh15 million) and Mandera (Sh11 million).
By the end of last week, the agency received and processed orders from Trans Nzoia (Sh35 million), Nyamira (Sh30 million), Bungoma (Sh13 million), Kilifi (Sh300 million), Kwale (Sh70 million), Nandi (Sh32 million and Garissa (Sh4.3 million).
To prevent counties from interrupted flow of medical commodities, Kemsa acting Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mulwa urged the operations directorate to fast track processing of all orders before closing for stock take.
“We want patients to have a continuous supply of HPTs in the county health facilities during this important annual routine exercise. Therefore, I’m calling on the commercial division to ensure that they advise all counties to submit their orders ahead of time to avoid the last-minute rush,” urged the CEO.
The agency plans to speed up the stock-take exercise, with normal business operations expected to resume on July 10, 2023.
"Stock-taking is fundamental in business management, more so for an organisation like Kemsa that holds physical inventory valued at more than Sh100 billion annually. We are taking this exercise seriously as it will help us physically identify and quantify existing stock levels, verify the stock condition and generally ensure that we do not have an unexplained variance between our system records and the inventory in our warehouses," he said.
Speaking at his office, Mulwa pledged to improve the order fill rate of Essential Medicines and Technologies including tracer commodities, which are critical in providing health care service delivery in health facilities across the country.
The agency is holding discussions with various suppliers to expedite the delivery of essential tracer commodities that will improve the order fill rate.
Tracer commodity refers to a product that has been selected for monitoring product availability at facilities as a programme indicator.
Mulwa noted that delays in restocking essential health products and technologies have been occasioned by Kemsa’s inability to pay suppliers on time owing to cash flow challenges.
He appealed to the counties to make good their payment promises by clearing all outstanding debts currently standing at Sh3 billion.
“This will allow the Authority to pay its suppliers on time and restock the essential Health Products and Technologies,” he said.
“KEMSA operates a not-for-profit commercial business model and as such whatever we get paid it is ploughed back into the revolving fund which is used to procure more HPTs and expand the product range.”
He added that Kemsa is banking on its superior supply chain management experience and infrastructure to boost operational efficiency at all levels.