KENYA— Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), a state-owned health logistics service provider, has announced plans to terminate 400 staff as part of a new effort to reduce spending and boost efficiency.
The state-owned corporation is responsible for procuring, warehousing, and distributing healthcare supplies to public sector health facilities and other public sector consumers.
According to the new board, by terminating 400 of its employees, the company will be reduced to 562 employees from the initial 962.
This disclosure came forth during an interview with a local newspaper, The Standard, in which Dr. Andrew Mulwa, the acting chief executive, underlined the importance of KEMSA’s involvement in the warehousing, distribution, and procurement of medical items.
Mulwa acknowledged that KEMSA has experienced challenges in the last three years, such as acquiring pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products at high prices, which ended up lying in stores for long periods of time and failing to be delivered to where they were needed.
He stated that the company is working to fulfill President William Ruto’s promise to provide affordable drugs to Kenyans by discouraging the importation of drugs that can be obtained locally, and he expressed his displeasure that it took three weeks to have local drugs on the market while imports can take up to three months.
As a result, he advocated for economic support by ring-fencing local products and discouraging the importation of products that can be manufactured locally, emphasizing that if a pharmaceutical product can be manufactured locally by three local manufacturers, similar imports should be barred from entering the country by the Kenya Revenue Authority.
The CEO also promised sector players that approximately Sh3 billion (US$19.96 million) worth of pharmaceutical products, out of Sh5.4 billion (US$35.928 million), will be sourced locally, while approximately Sh1.1 billion (US$7.318 million) worth of non-pharmaceutical products, out of Sh2.8 billion (US$16.29 million), will be sourced locally.
Mulwa stated that the government has provided KEMSA with Sh2 billion (US$13.306) for the execution of the Universal Health Care (UHC) initiative, which President Ruto announced during Mashujaa Day celebrations in Kericho County on Friday.
The CEO concluded that the Social Health Insurance Act of 2023, the Digital Health Act of 2023, the Facilities Improvement Financing Act of 2023, and the Primary Health Care Act will all help the government make the UHC a reality, enabling different counts to repay their debts.
The unprecedented initiative to terminate personnel comes as the authority prepares to execute reforms aimed at enhancing public service delivery efficiency.
Earlier in September, Dr. Mulwa told editors from several media outlets at a retreat in Mombasa that by October 1, all of its procurement processes would be automated to promote openness and fairness.
He also hinted that KEMSA is eager to use AI technology to evaluate disease trends and predict the necessary medicine allocations for various regions, ensuring a proactive response to possible emergencies.
KEMSA’s workforce optimization goal is to reduce worker numbers to 562 to assure the availability of a lean and efficient team capable of providing effective services.
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