• Kemsa is a state corporation under the Ministry of Health established under the Kemsa Act, 2013.
• It is mandated to procure, store and distribute medical commodities to public health facilities.
Image: FILE
The Cabinet has directed the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority to give locally produced pharmaceutical products priority over imports.
In a meeting held on Monday, the Cabinet said the move will help promote and bolster local manufacturing.
"To breathe life to the ‘one health’ approach, the Cabinet directed that the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) shall ensure that procurement of locally manufactured pharmaceutical products receives preference over imports," the Cabinet said in a dispatch released by State House.
"This will help in keeping with the administration’s plan to bolster local manufacturing-Buy Kenya Build Kenya- as part of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA)."
Kemsa is a state corporation under the Ministry of Health established under the Kemsa Act, 2013.
It is mandated to procure, store and distribute medical commodities to public health facilities.
The Cabinet also considered and approved the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee to negotiate the Pandemic Treaty with the World Health Organization (WHO).
The intervention seeks to address the challenges of vaccine apartheid and hoarding witnessed by Kenya and other developing nations at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Cabinet, the interministerial committee will advocate for equity in developing the Pandemic Treaty in addition to calling for strengthening both the WHO and the International Health Regulations that were last reviewed in 2005.
"In doing so, Kenya will also make the case for a global health supplies architecture for pandemic preparedness based on equitable principles," the Cabinet said in the dispatch.
The Cabinet also approved the implementation of the Kenya Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience Project.
The move will strengthen local health systems as part of the national endeavour to realise Universal Health Coverage (UHC).