The health sector in West Pokot County has received a major boost following the supply of drugs worth Sh60.1 million from the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA).
Speaking while flagging off the consignments at the County Headquarters in Kapenguria, Deputy Governor (DG) Robert Komolle, representing Governor Simon Kachapin, said the drugs will be distributed to 158 health facilities across the county so that residents can have health services at their nearest points.
He said the supply was due to the goodwill and trust in procurement the county has enjoyed with KeMSA, noting that the supplies are on credit and payments will be made once the adoption of E-Government Procurement comes into effect.
“We are among the only counties that have no pending bills with Kemsa and that is the reason they have entrusted us with their drugs on credit. We cannot wait to get the funds when our people need medicine in our public health facilities,” said Komolle.
The DG used the forum to rally residents to register with SHA, reiterating that medical insurance will not only help the government raise revenue to purchase medical supplies but also will cushion them against the heavy burdens of medication.
He said the county is unique because it receives patients from the neighbouring counties; therefore, the supplies will go a long way in helping many in need of health services.
County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Health, Clare Parklea, appealed to residents to feel part of the government initiative by ensuring the drugs are used effectively at their facilities.
She asked them to report to the authority any acts of misuse or misappropriation by any staff tasked with the management of drugs.
“All the health facilities are going to benefit from these supplies apart from some 10 facilities that are yet to receive batch numbers but can access the same from our county stores,” said Ms Parklea.
She lauded KeMSA for having trust in the county government of West Pokot and honouring their procurement requests despite the lack of funds.
“Our order is only short by Sh5million which translates to around 91 percent of the total request. This is rare but because we have been trusted by the medical supplies’ agency, they have surpassed their commitment levels,” posed the health CEC pointing that the county might be among the first to receive drugs in the first quarter of this financial year.
She added that 10 lorries had been engaged to supply the consignments to various parts of the county with land cruisers assigned to deliver the drugs to hard-to-access areas due to ongoing rains and the rough terrains such as Sekerr among others.
KeMSA representative in charge of the North Rift Region Zaccheus Muya praised the commitment and trust displayed by the West Pokot County administration noting that the county had paid for all the previous supplies and had no debt.
Muya said that though the county had ordered drugs worth Sh65million, the agency would supply the deficit soon under the back-order arrangement.
Kasei Ward MCA Francis Krop commended the county government administration for their speedy move to ensure drugs are made available to the public health facilities despite delays in funding.
Krop said the bottlenecks occasioned by the introduction of E-Government Procurement are well understood, calling on the governors to have intensive talks with the national government so that its implementation is rolled out in time, so as to steady provision of government services across the board.
By Richard Muhambe and Antony Melly
