Medicines at a warehouse awaiting distribution.
The demands, contained in a joint statement released on June 8 by four patient and health advocacy organisations, follow findings in the Auditor-General's report on Kemsa for the financial year ending June 30, 2025. The report found that medicines and health commodities worth Shs376.8 million expired while in Kemsa’s custody.
Among those was a smaller but significant batch of Ministry of Health commodities worth Sh23.96 million, which included cancer treatment medicines valued at Sh9.26 million.
Kemsa is the government agency responsible for buying, storing, and distributing medicines to public hospitals across Kenya.
The groups - the Kenyan Network of Cancer Organizations (Kenco), Health NGOs Network (Hennet), NCD Alliance Kenya, and Kenya Mended Hearts Patients Association - represent people living with cancer, HIV, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, and other chronic illnesses.
"For patients living with cancer, HIV, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, asthma, and other chronic conditions, access to medicines is not optional," the statement reads. "It is essential for survival, disease control, and quality of life."
The groups acknowledge that the crisis is not the result of any single failure. They point to a broader problem involving county governments that owe Kemsa outstanding debts, reimbursement delays from the Social Health Authority that leave health facilities unable to order medicines, and weak coordination between forecasting, procurement, and distribution.
"The result is a vicious cycle in which medicines remain in warehouses, facilities struggle to replenish stocks, patients face treatment interruptions, and public resources are ultimately lost through expiry and wastage," the statement says.
The Auditor-General found that commodities worth Sh558.6 million were accepted into the authority’s warehouses even though they had less than 75 per cent of their required shelf life remaining at the time of delivery.
Auditors also found no evidence of a working reverse logistics system - that is, no clear process for returning, recalling, redistributing, or safely disposing of medicines that could not be used. The report further noted that the effectiveness of internal controls over expired medicine could not be confirmed.
The organisations say these systemic gaps must be closed permanently, not just patched. Over the next six to twelve months, they want the authority to complete and fully operationalise integrated supply chain management systems capable of providing real-time visibility of stock levels, consumption trends, commodity movement, and impending expiries.
Over the longer term — one to two years — the groups want Kemsa to institutionalise routine public reporting on medicine availability, stock levels, expiries, wastage, and redistribution activities. They are also calling on the Ministry of Health to lead development of a resilient, transparent, and patient-centred national pharmaceutical supply chain strategy aligned to Universal Health Coverage and Social Health Authority reforms.
