KENYA – Instant Logistics firm Zipline and Kenya’s Maisha Meds have jointly launched an inventory management mobile system to boost efficiency in supply and prescription of medicine in the Kisumu County Government.
The collaborating parties aim to embrace technology in health thus the prescriptions will be done through the platform called ‘Maisha Meds’ to facilitate proper keeping of records for all supplies in the 144 health facilities in the county.
Through the public-private partnerships, the parties will leverage innovation in ongoing efforts aimed at eradicating drug expiration losses attributed to poor stock keeping along with boosting healthcare provision in the region.
Maisha Meds is building a digital pharmaceutical benefits manager for essential health products in low- and middle-income countries to improve access to affordable, high-quality, and appropriate medications for the bottom of the pyramid.
“In our first two years of full-time operations, we have built a network of 350+ clinics and pharmacies in Kenya that leverage our software to support 130,000+ patients monthly, and we anticipate that we will grow to support several thousands of sites in the next two years,” the firm announced.
Chief Officer in charge of Health Dr. Gregory Ganda in a statement to the media said that the facility managers will only stock what is enough to reduce cases of wastage and expiry based on the available data.
“The end-to-end system will change the county’s health system in matters of procurement and supply of drugs in facilities. It will help the county government have effective control of the consumption rate of various drugs and plan properly,” said Dr. Ganda.
He further said that the county has in the past experienced a high expiration of drugs in Kisumu because facilities request more than they requires, noting that the initiative will help the health department move away from the manual system where records are based on the number of patients treated.
“For instance, you find a health facility requests for 20,000 tablets and ends up using only 1,000 leaving the remaining 19,000 to expire, yet we have other facilities in the county that could have used the drugs,” Ganda explained.
He highlighted that with the new system, when a patient is given two tablets of a certain drug, the system automatically subtracts the same from the stock making it easy for medics to know which medicine is required where.
“We have put in place a robust infrastructure to leverage on technology to enhance access to quality medical care. The county has partnered with global instant logistics leader Zipline to supply drugs to health facilities in the area using drugs,” Ganda reaffirmed.
During the Mama Grace Onyango Foundation for Digital Health in Africa Conference in Kisumu, First Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda Rebecca Kadaga and Kisumu Deputy Governor Mathews Owili lauded the initiative will outline all medicines procured by the county government to individuals to reduce wastage.
The event also witnessed the presence of Grace Onyango, Great Lakes University vice chancellor Prof Hazel Mumbo, Prof Miriam Were, Prof Khama Rogo, former Senator Zipporah Kittony, and National Fund for the Disabled of Kenya chairperson Prof Julia Ojiambo and medic Prof Miriam Were.
Furthermore, Kisumu Deputy Governor Mathews Owili and Italian Deputy Head Mission to Kenya Lorenza Gamacorta met and deliberated on various areas of partnership, including health sector.
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