The Senate has raised serious concerns after medical supplies worth approximately KSh1 billion reportedly expired while in the custody of the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).
Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu asked the Senate Health Committee to investigate the expiry of the medicines and provide detailed information on how the situation occurred. The matter was raised in the Senate as a national concern.
The expired supplies included medicines used to manage serious conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and malaria. Nyutu questioned how essential medical commodities could expire while some public health facilities may have been experiencing shortages.
He called for details on the type, quantity and value of the medicines that expired, as well as their expiry dates and the warehouses or facilities where they were stored.
The senator also wants an explanation of whether poor procurement planning, inaccurate demand forecasting, weak stock monitoring, poor distribution or inadequate coordination contributed to the loss.
The Senate committee has also been asked to establish whether hospitals reported shortages of the same medicines during the period when the supplies remained unused.
Another issue under investigation is responsibility for the procurement, storage and distribution of the affected medical commodities. The committee is expected to identify the relevant officers and institutions and outline any administrative, disciplinary or legal action taken.
Nyutu further called for reforms to improve KEMSA’s inventory management, distribution systems and accountability to prevent essential medicines from expiring before reaching patients.
The concerns come as KEMSA continues to manage the supply of medical commodities to thousands of public health facilities across Kenya.