Kemsa board to reassess pricing of health products

The Kemsa board has promised to evaluate the pricing of health products and technologies to ensure their affordability.

The board to the embattled national drugs supplier has been conducting a series of engagements with county governments with the latest being Kilifi and Taita Taveta.

The board chairperson Mary Chao Mwadime on Thursday said while the current pricing is fair, it could be better priced to meet the needs of more Kenyans.

 “We will work in partnership with our partners, especially county governments to guarantee Kenyans the best pricing for our products, so that health facilities are able to offer the required health care comprehensively,” she said.

Mwadime, however, emphasised the need for Kemsa debtors to settle pending bills as soon as possible, in order to cover the Sh6 billion the authority is owed.

“Once counties settle their bills, we will be able to sustain normal operations even as we focus on the reforms to make Kemsa a center of excellence. We are targeting to hit 90 per cent order fill rate to facilitate availability of HPTs in health facilities,” she said.  

Last week, the board of directors visited Kisumu, Nyamira, Kisii and Uasin Gishu to understand the challenges counties are facing with Kemsa services.

Mwadime said they are keen on tailoring their services to effectively respond to customers’ needs.

She said they are scaling up organisational turn-around efforts to provide a solid foundation for the uptake of Universal Health Coverage.

Early this week, senators called on the National Treasury to release funds to the counties to enable them clear debts they owe Kemsa.

It has emerged that the financial operations of the authority has been crippled further by the huge debts owed by county governments.

The irony is that even the Health ministry owes the national drugs supplier close to Sh2 billion.

“Of the Sh6.4 billion debt, only Sh3.9 billion is for county governments. So I think the ministry should start paying that money,” Wajir Senator Abdillahi Abdi said.

Kemsa sent non-core staff home for 30 days to allow for vetting.

Mwadime said the agency has been found to be in a financial crisis with rising debt and supply chain problems.

She said the workers would be appraised and those found fit rehired. Redundant and unnecessary positions will however, be eliminated.

(Edited by Bilha Makokha)