• USAID and the Ministry of Health will oversee the distribution of the donation.
• Kenya and the US governments are working together to resolve delays in the importation, warehousing, and delivery of antiretrovirals and other medical supplies.
Image: WILFRED NYANGARESI
Distribution of life-saving HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment medications donated by the people of the United States has begun.
These antiretrovirals will be delivered to 2,144 public health facilities in all 47 counties across Kenya. The current deliveries are possible following negotiations between the United States and Kenyan governments.
The governments are working together to resolve delays in the importation, warehousing, and delivery of antiretrovirals and other medical supplies.
Eric Watnik, who is Chargé d’Affaires in the US Embassy in Nairobi said that the US has stood with the people of Kenya in the fight against HIV/AIDS for decades.
“Donations of medicines, supplies, and expertise from the American people have improved the lives of a generation of Kenyans and brought this epidemic under control. We continue working with the Kenyan government on our mutual goal of eradicating HIV/AIDS in Kenya,” Eric said.
The US through its development agency USAID, together with Kenya’s Ministry of Health, will oversee the distribution of the donation.
The current donation includes approximately 300,000 packs of 90-day supplies of Tenofovir/Lamivudine/Dolutegravir and approximately 4,400 packs of 30-day supplies of Atazanavir/Ritonavir.
The two governments are committed to finding a long-term solution for continued shipments of US-donated health commodities, including developing systems that will provide better accountability.
The US and Kenya will collaborate on how to improve and strengthen Kenya’s public health supply chain and implement robust internal and external controls so that all Kenyans continue to receive life-saving medications with dependability and transparency.
In the interim, the Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS), a Christian not-for-profit organization registered as a trust of the ecumenical partnership of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Christian Health Association of Kenya, will be facilitating the distribution on behalf of USAID and the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority.
The US is the largest donor for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Kenya and remains deeply committed to the health and safety of the 1.2 million Kenyans who rely on antiretrovirals.