Kenya: Govt Keen on Making KEMSA Efficient, Graft-Free – DP Gachagua

Nairobi — Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said the government is implementing reforms at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency in order to make it more efficient, transparent and responsive to the growing medical demands.

Speaking on Monday when he hosted senior officials from KEMSA together with local and international partners in the health sector at Harambee House Annex, the DP said the Agency remained critical to the government’s plan of ensuring the implementation of the Universal Health Coverage.

Gachagua said the ongoing reforms at the parastatal were paying off adding that the agency was on the right track to becoming a reliable and reputable organization.

“Transparency and accountability at Kemsa are non-negotiable. We want to see that the systems there are efficient, reliable and free of scandals that were common before,” the DP said.

In attendance were Kemsa Chief Executive Officer Terry Ramadhani, Kemsa Board Chairman Daniel Rono, United States ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman, Amref Country Director Githinji Gitahi, World Health Organization Country Director Abdourahmane Diallo.

Present also were Principal Secretaries Peter Tum (Medical Services),Dr Josephine Mburu (Health Standards and Professional Management).

Gachagua challenged the KEMSA officials to modernize the agency’s operations through adoption of latest technology saying it would help improve service delivery as well as rid it of scandals.

He said an Integrated Health Care Management System was critical for enhancing service delivery challenging the senior managers to ensure its implementation.

“Achieving Universal Health Coverage is one of the pillars of the administration. We are reengineering our approach to the health sector so it is beneficial to our people. KEMSA is critical to realizing this. We are keen to ensure it is efficient and reputable,” the DP said.

The DP also urged the development partners to continue supporting the government to improve the local healthcare systems, reiterating the importance of the sector to the administration.

He also challenged them to direct more support to the Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) who he praised for doing a critical job in administering primary healthcare.

Kemsa CEO Ramadhani said they were up to the task adding that the reforms they were implementing were paying off.

“We are grateful for the support we are getting from the government as we continue to improve our services,” said Ramadhani.