Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said the Government has revamped and streamlined operations at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA) to make it effective in the distribution of medicine to health facilities in the country.
Speaking on Thursday, the Deputy President said the Government had focused on dealing with inefficiency and poor service provision at the parastatal over the last year, adding that the efforts had been fruitful.
“We have streamlined the operations at KEMSA and as of today, medical supplies are available to the counties and no county can claim they have not received medical supplies from KEMSA,” said Mr Gachagua.
The DP said the streamlining of KEMSA was among a raft of measures rolled out in the health sector in a bid to improve services as promised before taking office last year.
He cited the employment of the 100,000 community health promoters as another big achievement that would improve the sector and boost the race towards Universal Health Coverage.
“There are several gains the Government has achieved in the health sector in the last one year. The Afya Nyumbani Programme is one of them and through it 100, 000 community health promoters have been enlisted and equipped and are getting a stipend to encourage them to serve the people at level one intervention because primary healthcare is critical in our plan to achieve Universal Health Coverage,” the DP said.
Addressing the ceremony, where 22,695 healthcare professionals graduated, the Deputy President applauded the KMTC for playing a leading role in producing a highly trained health workforce whose input was critical in sustaining the health of the people and in the achievement of UHC.
“In our race to deliver Universal Health Coverage under the Kenya Kwanza Plan, KMTC is a great enabler,” said Mr Gachagua who was accompanied by Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha and Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muriuki.
Mr Gachagua also said they were investing in further training for the healthcare professionals to empower them with more skills for better service delivery.
“Through strategic investments and comprehensive training, our aim is to strengthen these front-line workers, ensuring every Kenyan, regardless of location, receives the essential primary healthcare services they deserve,” he added.
Additionally, the DP said the training of medical professionals locally was highly regarded globally saying the developed countries were seeking their services.
“We have outstanding requests from the United Kingdom and Germany for healthcare providers,” he said.
Mr Gachagua also said they will look into enhancing the HELB Capitation for KMTC students to ensure they study without financial challenges.
