- Senators want the government to stop overlying on donors for the provision of lifesaving drugs such as antiretrovirals.
- The call comes amid revelations that more than 80 per cent of HIV commodities are funded by donors.
Image: FILE
Senators now want the government to stop overlying on donors for the provision of lifesaving drugs such as antiretrovirals.
The call comes amid revelations that more than 80 per cent of HIV drugs used in Kenya are funded by donors, mainly the United States Agency for International Development and the Global Fund.
This is contained in a report by the Ministry of Health tabled in the Senate. Through the Health committee, the legislators said the government’s dependency on donors is a threat to national security, especially in cases where the government disagrees with a donor.
The panel chaired by Trans Nzoia Senator Michael Mbito said the government must, as a matter of necessity, mobilise domestic resources to facilitate private sector investment to locally manufacture such drugs.
This should be the first step towards reducing donor dependency on lifesaving drugs, they said.
“The government, through the Ministry of Health and the National Treasury, must take urgent and immediate steps to reduce Kenya’s dependency on donors for the ARV and essential drugs,” the team said.
The report contains the findings of the investigations into the stalemate between Kenya and the US over the importation of Sh1.2 billion ARVs that rocked the country early this year.
In January, the US, through USAID, donated ARVs, among other medicines to Kenya, but they were detained at the Mombasa port as the two governments fought over taxation and the mode of distribution.
The stalemate was broken in June but not before it had disrupted the supply of the drugs to more than 1.5 million Kenyans who depend on them for survival. This came after Kenya abandoned its demand for tax amounting to Sh45 million and the condition to distribute the consignment.
USAID had also said the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority should not be involved in the distribution of the commodities given the corruption scandals that rocked the agency in recent months.
The Ministry of Health said the impasse had been caused by a unilateral decision by USAID to import HIV commodities using a private entity.
It said the agency recruited Chemonics Ltd without its knowledge or prior notice, a situation it said was outside the formal engagement framework.
The Senate panel concurred with the government in its demand for tax for the consignment because importations through private companies do not qualify for special exemptions and are subject to normal clearance procedures.
“Upon the consignment reaching Kenya, USAID was required to pay taxes amounting to Sh45.8 million, being payment for customs, railway development levy and import declaration fees,” the committee said.
In its report, the committee says resources mobilised by the government should facilitate private sector investment in the manufacture of strategic health products in relation to HIV-Aids, TB, and malaria and report back to Parliament within the next six months.
The committee says the ministry should diversify its partnerships and engagements with donors to avoid reliance on a single donor.
“The Office of the Auditor General should conduct a special audit on allegations of corruption and mismanagement at Kemsa in relation to the procurement, warehousing and distribution of ARVs and report back to Senate within three months,” it says.