Patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Homa Bay county have urged the government to increase budgetary support for procurement of drugs for managing the diseases.
The patients noted that they were incurring heavy expenses acquiring the drugs from private chemists whenever the supplies run out in public health facilities.
They want the county government to create a special budget for purchasing drugs for their conditions in the forthcoming 2025/2026.
The NCDs include hypertension, diabetes, asthma, sickle cell and epilepsy among others.
Salome Akinyi from Mbita town, a hypertension patient said that they relied on drugs accessed through the support of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) organization.
However, the organization provides the drugs free of charge only in Marindi and Nyalkinyi health centers in Homa Bay Sub-county.
Patients who cannot afford the fare to Nyalkinyi are forced to buy the drugs from chemists.
Akinyi said she has to spend about Sh1000 on fare for picking drugs from Marindi adding that if the drugs were available at her nearest health center or dispensary, she would not be incurring such expenses.
“MSF has helped us because it gives us hypertension drugs free of charge. However, lack of the drugs in our nearest health facilities causes serious financial challenges,” Akinyi said.
Speaking during a sensitization forum against hypertension in Rodi Kopany Township, the patients want the county government to factor in the funds for purchasing NCDs drugs in next financial year’s budget.
Another patient, Tom Mboya, said allocating more funds in the budget will solve the lack of NCDs drugs in local health facilities permanently.
“Let the county government allocate NCD funds in the 2025/2026 financial year budget. This will do away with perennial lack of those drugs in public health facilities in this county,” Mboya said.
He said the matter should be taken seriously because MSF which currently provides patients with free drugs in the two health facilities was a stopgap gap measure and its departure may cause unprecedented deaths in the county.
“MSF is not operating in Homa Bay permanently, let the county government put strategies for supplying NCD drugs in local health facilities to ensure sustainability,” Mboya said.
MSF Project Coordinator in Homa Bay County Anne Brukhanoff said there is a need for the Ministry of Health and all stakeholders to start putting sustainable measures for hypertension medication in public health facilities.
Brukhanoff said they train health workers on management of hypertension and sensitize local communities about the non-communicable diseases.
“We offer treatment in only two health facilities in the county but this is not enough. There is a need for other stakeholders, especially the county department of health to intervene and ensure steady supply of medication,” Brukhanoff said.
The NCDs Coordinator in Homa Bay Sub-county Caroline Aloo and Coordinator of Health Promotion Kennedy Omollo urged residents to embrace early screening for hypertension.
“NCDs are silent killers. Let residents screen for these diseases early. A person with hypertension can live longer if the condition is managed well,” Aloo said.
By Gloria Faith and Davis Langat
