President William Ruto, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula and other senior government officials during the Kenya Health Summit 2026 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi, on August 18, 2026. / HANDOUTThe Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) says its digital transformation and last-mile delivery programme has improved the availability of essential medicines and medical supplies in health facilities across the country.
KEMSA said its order fill rate has risen to about 90 per cent, as the agency moves to digitise its operations and deliver health commodities directly to facilities, including those serving hard-to-reach communities.
The agency highlighted the progress during the Kenya Health Summit 2026 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi, where President William Ruto visited its exhibition stand.
The development comes after Ruto said the government's investment in digitisation had improved medicine availability through KEMSA.
“Our investment in digitisation is equally delivering results. The medicine refill rate at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency has risen to more than 91 per cent, up from 40 per cent three years ago, ensuring that our health facilities are adequately stocked at all times,” Ruto said.
KEMSA said the improved performance is part of efforts to build a health supply chain that is more efficient, transparent and responsive to the needs of health facilities.
One of the changes highlighted by the agency is the introduction of paperless operations, with digital systems being used to streamline processes, improve accountability and provide greater visibility across the supply chain.
The agency also said it has introduced last-mile doorstep delivery, under which medicines and other health commodities are delivered directly to health facilities rather than stopping at distribution centres.
The approach is intended to improve access for facilities serving communities in areas that are difficult to reach.
KEMSA said the reforms are focused on ensuring health facilities receive essential medicines and medical supplies when they are needed.
The agency said the current order fill rate stands at 90 per cent, meaning most of the orders placed by health facilities can be supplied from available stock.
The figures cited by KEMSA broadly correspond with the improvement highlighted by Ruto, who put the current medicine refill rate at more than 91 per cent, compared with 40 per cent three years ago.
The President visited the KEMSA exhibition stand during the summit as health sector stakeholders reviewed progress made under the government's ongoing health reforms.
KEMSA said its focus remains on developing a modern health supply chain that places patients and health workers at the centre of the distribution of medicines and medical supplies.
The agency said the combination of digital systems, improved order fulfilment and last-mile delivery is intended to strengthen the reliability of the health supply chain across the country.
