NAIROBI,Kenya, Feb, 21 – The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) Acting Chief Executive Officer John Kabuchi will Tuesday flag off an assorted consignment of essential medical supplies at the Authority’s Nairobi National Supply Chain Centre.
The consignments to be flagged from the Embakasi facility are destined to more than 37 Counties and are part of the recently ordered supplies by respective County Governments geared at strengthening the national Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scale-up efforts.
President Uhuru Kenyatta recently launched the national scale-up of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) with a call to all to register for the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
The President affirmed the Government’s commitment to spreading the benefits of UHC across the country through the development of a focused policy to accelerate its implementation.
The President affirmed the Government’s commitment to spreading the benefits of UHC across the country through the development of a focused policy to accelerate its implementation.
“In this regard, my administration has developed the Universal Healthcare Coverage Policy, covering the period 2020 – 2030, to guide the acceleration of the progress in attaining Universal Health Coverage,” the President said.
The President was speaking at the Port Reitz sub county hospital in Mombasa where he said the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to bear the urgent need for the country to upscale implementation of the UHC.
“Under this pillar, we seek to eradicate the ‘poverty of dignity’ and transition our nation into an era where no Kenyan should be forced to choose between medical bills and other essential needs,” President Kenyatta said.
On UHC, the Head of State said the programme was started in the country in 2013 with the launch of the highly acclaimed free maternity programme dubbed “Linda Mama”, which currently benefits over one million mothers annually.
He outlined various initiatives the Government has put in place to ensure the successful implementation of UHC including investment in health infrastructure and development of a digital health platform to support the effective monitoring of the health sector.
In the last financial year and towards the achievement of UHC, KEMSA procured Health Products and Technologies (HPTs) worth Sh35.84 billion, with about 11,500 health facilities managing to draw down 97 percent of these commodities.
The Authority, Mwadime said, has put in place strategic measures to significantly contribute to the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as a strategic delivery partner.
“At the UHC pilot stage, we learnt some invaluable lessons that we will apply to facilitate the provision of equitable, affordable and quality health services. KEMSA is a crucial pillar on this journey, and we celebrate the milestone,” she said from Mombasa following the launch of the UHC National Scale-up programme.
As part of KEMSA’s commitment to supporting UHC delivery, the Authority, Ms Mwadime said, maintains a robust infrastructure and supply chain capacity to guarantee access and delivery of quality HPTs to about 11,500 facilities in the national public health care system.
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