•Phase one will cost Sh1.6 billion ($10 million), which will include a factory and other infrastructure.
Nyong’o said they must ensure the medicines produced by Med Aditus reach the neediest people and they are used appropriately and effectively.
Image: MAURICE ALAL
Image: MAURICE ALAL
The Kisumu government has partnered with Med Aditus Kenya Limited to build a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant at the Great Lakes University of Kisumu.
The multibillion-shilling project will be constructed in two phases on 15 acres. Phase one will cost Sh1.6 billion ($10 million), which will include a factory and other infrastructure.
The pact will make Kisumu the first county in Western Kenya to construct and manage a pharmaceutical company.
Upon completion, the facility will be producing two billion tablets per year at a subsidised cost.
Med Aditus Kenya Limited is a subsidiary company under Med Aditus Incorporation, a US-based pharmaceutical nonprofit company created with the vision of increasing access to quality medicine in sub-Saharan Africa.
Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong’o said they have signed a concession agreement providing a legal framework for the partnership to allow construction to start.
He said they are also collaborating with the university (GLUK) in Kibos to build the pharmaceutical plant.
"We are proud to host a project that will not only provide hundreds of employment opportunities to our people, but will also produce affordable and quality medicines for underserved patients,” Nyong’o said.
The firm is expected to stimulate the local economy, contribute to research and training, and enhance the health sector in the region.
Nyong’o, who spoke during the launch of the project in Kibos on Wednesday, said the initiative will no doubt create an opportunity for the university to build a faculty of pharmacy.
He praised Med Aditus Pharmaceuticals and Med Aditus Pharmaceuticals Kenya Limited president and chief executive officer Dr Dhiren Thakker and president and CEO of Med Aditus International Robert Blouin for the partnership.
Local medicines production will reduce the county’s dependence on imports and improve supply chain security.
It will also increase resilience to shocks and disruptions, especially in the face of emerging and re-emerging diseases.
Besides medicines, it will foster innovation, training, research and development in the pharmaceutical sector and contribute to the achievement of the universal health coverage agenda and the national agenda of boosting local manufacturing.
The governor said his government is committed to supporting Med Aditus in its mission to build a sustainable ecosystem to produce medicine in Kenya and beyond.
“We have provided land, infrastructure and incentives to facilitate the implementation of this project,” Nyong’o said.
The county has also collaborated with state agencies to ensure the project adheres to the highest standards of environmental and social responsibility.
Africa, with 25 per cent of the world's disease burden and just one per cent of global health expenditure, faces significant challenges.
Nyong’o said the continent heavily relies on imports, leading to supply instability and infiltration of substandard medicines to address unmet medication needs.
Med Aditus, in collaboration with international trainer-Rymedi International-will be introducing cutting-edge technologies to bring about exponential change in the pharmaceutical landscape of sub-Saharan Africa.
The modular continuous manufacturing assembly, coupled with real time process controls, will accelerate the production of high quality pharmaceuticals, meet domestic needs and pave the way for export.
Nyong’o said they must ensure the medicines produced by Med Aditus reach the neediest people and they are used appropriately and effectively.
“We must continue to invest in our health systems, our human resources and our communities to ensure everyone has access to quality and affordable healthcare,” he said.
The governor urged residents to embrace and promote projects and to support local industries and products.
Nyong’o assured residents, especially those from Kibos, that they will be given first priority in non-technical jobs, once construction work starts.
The project will supplement efforts the county has made in improving preventive, public and family healthcare.
“Our health indicators have systematically improved in the past five years as reported by the Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys,” Nyong’o said.
He said they will continue to invest in training, research, data collection, hospital modernisation and service delivery.
Nyong’o said the county has recorded a reduction in maternal mortality by about 30 per cent (from 495 to 343 per 100,000 live births).
Infant mortality rate has reduced from 54 to 39 per 100,000 live births, with under five mortality reducing from 79 to 63 deaths per 1,000 live births.
In the past two years, the number of women delivering in health facilities has increased from 69 to 94 per cent because of the completion and opening of health facilities in the county and investment in community health services.
The county has opened 280 community health units and linked them to 151 public health facilities and five faith-based health facilities.
“Our community health workers have become the pillar of our health services. The number of visits they made to family households increased from 187,977 in 2022 to 206,420 in 2023,” Nyong’o said.
He said electronic community health information systems has increased efficiency, and improved the quality and consistency of patient care.
The commitment to efficient data management was evident in the successful transfer and storage of 100 per cent of community health data in a local physical data store.
Last year, the county piloted the use of Zipline Logistics Company for the warehousing, storage of medical supplies and the use of drone technology to deliver emergency lifesaving medical supplies and replenishment of stockouts in health facilities.
Since its launch in February 2023, 1,382 deliveries have been made in the 24 facilities where flight authorisation has been obtained in Kisumu.
Nyong’o said they are in talks with the national civil aviation authorities to expand these services.