Drugs Stored At Mombasa Port As Shortage Continues To Bite

Members of the National Assembly, through the parliamentary Health Committee, have raised an alarm over drug shortage in the country when there is a container still held at the Inland Container Depot (ICD).

The MPs summoned the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa) Chief Executive Officer Jonah Mwangi to seek to know details about the agency’s budget implementations.

While KEMSA’s written responses were being tabled before the health committee, the MPs raised the question of drug shortage and sought to know why there are containers with drugs still lying at the ICD.

“We have reported that there is a container with drugs that is yet to be supplied. We wish to know why the drugs are still being stored at the ICD when several patients in city hospitals lack drugs,” demanded Nairobi Women Representative Esther Passaris.

KEMSA CEO told the committee that indeed there was a container with drugs at the ICD but the government agency has been a bit hesitant on supplying them because of the recent claims of counterfeit drugs.

According to KEMSA CEO, those drugs need to be properly checked to establish their efficacy and whether they are fit for human consumption.

“We are aware that there are containers with drugs at the ICD that have not been cleared. We are also aware that there is a possibility that counterfeit drugs have been released to the market before, which is why these drugs need verification before we have them released,” said CEO Mwangi.

The MPs also raised complaints against KEMSA on the supply of drugs to medical facilities in all counties saying that there are county hospitals that have not received drugs.

The chair of the Health parliamentary committee, Sabina Chege urged the government agency’s CEO to ‘put his house in order’ and allow for faster drug supply in hospitals.

She further ordered that KEMSA comes up with a well-organized document showing how the agency spent its budget on the 31st October following the MPs protests that he had his responses poorly organized.