- Local manufacturers argued few distributors or manufacturers have nationwide reach.
- They warned that the overall cost of procurement will increase if there is no centralised procurement.
Image: MAGDALINE SAYA
Health sector stakeholders have backed senators' calls to end the monopoly of the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency, except on local drugs and medicines manufacturers.
The Kenya Healthcare Federation, the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK) and the Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS) said counties should be given a free hand to purchase medical supplies from other entities.
PSK said counties should be allowed to procure the commodities directly from manufacturers not limited to Kemsa.
“This will provide necessary healthy competition to Kemsa whilst also assuring competitively priced supplies when Kemsa is out of stock,” PSK interim CEO Lucas Nyabero said.
MEDS, a faith-based medical supply chain organisation, said counties should be allowed to procure commodities from organisations with demonstrated capacity for recalling products with quality problems from county health facilities and disposing of them in line with regulations.
“This will save counties from costs associated with poor quality products,” MEDS managing director Wycliffe Nandama said.
However, the Federation of Kenya Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (FKPM) warned decentralising the procurement process would hurt provision of health services to Kenyans.
“What is the guarantee that once counties have the responsibility to procure medicines, there will be no shortage?” FKPM asked.
FKPM further asked how the quality of drugs and medicines supplied will be guaranteed, saying counties may not have the infrastructure to sufficiently verify the quality of the products.
The federation added that decentralisation of the supply chain will cause problems in the implementation of national health programmes such as those of HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and vaccine programmes.
It warned the overall cost of procurement will increase if there is no centralised procurement. “Economies of scale achieved by Kemsa will be reduced drastically,” it explained.
FKPM further said few distributors or manufacturers have the nationwide reach that Kemsa has in terms of logistics.
“It is therefore our belief that Kemsa should be allowed to remain the central procuring centre and we would also support initiatives that would lead to systematic improvement to the institution,” the federation concluded in its submission.
On January 12, lawmakers unanimously endorsed the Kemsa (Amendment) Act, 2021, to give the counties and the national government a free hand to purchase medical suppliers from other players.
The Bill now heads to the National Assembly for consideration. Should it pass, Kemsa, which has been riddled with corruption allegations, will lose its monopoly.
Governors have often complained that Kemsa’s prices are high compared to those of other players in the market.
They have claimed Kemsa has been the cause of the persistent shortage of drugs in public hospitals in counties.
The law currently prohibits counties from procuring drugs outside Kemsa. If approved by MPs, the changes will hit Kemsa sales and open the doors for private drug firms.
The Bill, sponsored by Naomi Shiyonga (Nominated) will remove the provision that requires counties to procure drugs and medical supplies from the authority as the first priority.
In its submissions on Wednesday, the Kenya Healthcare Federation said Kemsa should focus on essential medicines and county hospitals given the flexibility to procure specialised medical products and emergency medicines.
This was the case before the Health Laws (Amendment) Act 2019 was enacted.
(Edited by V. Graham)