Sh100bn leaves Kenya every year on medicine imports, says Duale

Kenya will help reduce financial risks for investors willing to build medicine and health products factories locally as part of a plan to cut imports and strengthen the country's health security.

 Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said Kenya currently imports about 70 per cent of its pharmaceutical products and nearly all the vaccines used in the country.

 In total, Kenyans spend about Sh155 billion ($1.2 billion) on health products every year, but nearly Sh98 billion ($760 million) of that money goes to other countries because the products are imported, Duale said.

 The CS said the government will work with financial institutions and development partners to make it easier for manufacturers to access long-term loans needed to establish production plants.

 "Government's role here is not to manufacture. It is to absorb the risk private capital will not absorb on its own," Duale said during the launch of the Kenya Health Products and Technologies Local Manufacturing Strategy 2026–2030 in Nairobi.

 He said the ministry is already working with the National Treasury, the Kenya Development Corporation and development finance partners.

 The partnership seeks to establish a dedicated health manufacturing credit guarantee facility that de-risks long-tenor lending for pharmaceutical, vaccine, diagnostic and medical device production.

 The strategy seeks to strengthen Kenya's ability to produce medicines and other health products locally, reducing dependence on imports while improving access to essential healthcare supplies.

 Medicines and other health products also make up a large share of healthcare spending, accounting for about 40 per cent of costs at primary healthcare facilities and more than 20 per cent at higher-level hospitals.

 "You cannot manufacture a health system that you cannot finance. You cannot finance a health system that you cannot supply. You cannot digitise a supply chain that has nothing flowing through it. Local manufacturing is the floor beneath these reforms," he said.

 The new strategy comes as African countries push to increase local production of medicines following lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many nations struggled to access vaccines, medicines and medical supplies because of disruptions in global supply chains.

 The African Union has set a target of producing 60 per cent of the continent's health commodities locally by 2040. President William Ruto serves as the African Union Champion for Local Manufacturing.

 According to the World Health Organization, Africa currently imports the vast majority of the medicines and vaccines it uses, making countries vulnerable during global health emergencies.

 WHO Kenya Acting Representative Dr Neema Kimambo said the strategy would help Kenya become more self-reliant and better prepared for future health crises.

 "Today, Kenya imports an estimated 70 to 80 per cent of the pharmaceuticals it consumes. In ordinary times, that dependence may appear manageable. But during a crisis, it becomes a vulnerability," Kimambo said.

 "Mpox and the Covid-19 pandemic reminded us that when global supply chains are disrupted, access to medicines, diagnostics, vaccines and other essential health products can no longer be taken for granted. Countries compete for limited supplies, costs rise, and those who suffer most are often the most vulnerable."

 She said the strategy goes beyond healthcare and could also create jobs, attract investment and support economic growth.

 "At its core, this strategy is about ensuring access to essential health products is not determined by events beyond Kenya's borders. It is about strengthening the country's ability to provide the medicines, diagnostics and technologies its people need," Kimambo said.

 Another pillar of the strategy is strengthening research and development so that scientific discoveries made in Kenya can be turned into products manufactured locally.

 Duale said institutions such as Kenya Medical Research Institute and the Kenya Institute for Primate Research (Kipre) already have strong scientific expertise, but the country needs better systems to move innovations from laboratories into factories.

 "Kenya must build its own version of that bridge, anchored on and strengthening university research laboratories such as KAVI and national research bodies such as Kemri and Kipre, with a direct, structured pipeline from research work into pre-clinical drug development, formulation and process scale-up," he said.

 "The task here is singular: take what our scientists discover and our universities publish, and carry it through to something a Kenyan factory can produce at scale."

 The government also plans to consolidate the purchasing of health products across national and county governments, as well as other major buyers, to create a larger and more predictable market for manufacturers.

 Duale said guaranteed long-term demand would make it easier for investors to secure financing and expand production.

 "A manufacturer who knows, in advance, the volume Kenya will purchase over three to five years can take that commitment to a bank, to an investor and to their own board. That is how demand stops being a hope and becomes a financeable instrument," he said.

 The WHO urged Kenya to ensure that quality remains a top priority as local manufacturing expands.