The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority board has operationalised the Kisumu regional distribution centre.
It will be a focal distribution point of Health Products and Technologies (HPTs) to 20 counties in Western region.
This is meant to strengthen the supply chain and ensure that orders are serviced in good time.
Kemsa Board chairman Kembi Gitura told Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong'o that restructuring is going on at the organisation to improve services.
Kemsa board members are on a working tour of Kisumu and the Lake Region Economic Bloc counties to take stock of the prevailing conditions following the ravaging effects of Covid-19 pandemic.
Governor Nyong’o, who is the Council of Governors Health Committee chairman, lauded the board for its good relations with counties.
"This relationship has ensured that health facilities orders in the counties are promptly serviced even when there are delays with disbursements of funds from the national Treasury to the counties," he said
Nyong'o said the distribution centre will greatly cut the time taken to deliver orders.
He, however, expressed concerns about the stock capacity at Kemsa as county orders are only serviced to 70 per cent at a time due to stock outages.
But Kembi assured the governor that they have put measures in place to ensure that orders are serviced in entirety.
“The Kemsa board is working to ensure that we have all essential medicines and medical supplies in stock,” he said.
Kembi was accompanied by directors Mary Owino, Dorothy Away, Bibiana Njue, Joel Lesuda, Josephat Vuva and acting CEO Edward Njoroge.
