Looming drug shortage in city

What you need to know:

  • Up to 85 clinics and four major hospitals risk running short of supplies. The hospitals are Mbagathi, Pumwani, Mama Lucy and Mutuini.
  • The executive member for health, Timothy Kingondu, claimed nobody had raised the matter with him.

A drug shortage is looming in hospitals run by the Nairobi county government after failure to meet pay for drugs supplied in the last three months.

Kenya Medical Supply Authority has refused to deliver more medicines to the hospitals in the next one week unless its paid.

Up to 85 clinics and four major hospitals risk running short of supplies. The hospitals are Mbagathi, Pumwani, Mama Lucy and Mutuini.

The County Assembly Health Committee Chairman, Mr Manoah Mboku, on Wednesday said there were no drugs at Mbagathi.

SH34M DEBT

He was responding to a statement raised by Woodley Ward Rep Njoroge Kairu and said his committee was confirming on specifics of the crisis.

The county owes the drug supplier Sh34 million which is payment scheduled for the last quarter.

“When my committee talked to the Chief Finance Officer, he said there was no money,” Mr Mboku said.

He claimed the county secretariat was ignoring the health services.

The executive member for health, Timothy Kingondu, claimed nobody had raised the matter with him.

He said the county had a Sh600 million contract with Kenya Medical Supply Authority and that the money would be paid.

Mr Kingondu said there was no cause for alarm since the hospitals would be supplied with drugs.

Although procurement and distribution of medicines to county hospitals is among devolved functions, Cabinet Secretary for Health James Macharia gave the directive that all counties get drugs from Kenya Medical Supply Authority.

All county governments procure medicines from Kenya Medical Supply Authority except where a particular drug is unavailable.

Then, alternative arrangement can be made.