Country faces serious pharmaceutical products shortage, stocks run out
By George.Kebaso, January 26, 2024The country is facing a serious shortage of pharmaceutical products, it emerged yesterday.
Sources within the pharmaceutical industry revealed that some anti-cancer drugs have been out of stock for some time, exposing patients to possible high costs while at the same time endangering their lives.
Yesterday, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB), the regulator said it only accounts for what is in its system, while pharmaceutical distributors attributed the shortage to the government’s single, newly designated Paybill Number 222222.
PPB Chief Executive Dr Fred Siyoi attributed the shortage to what he termed as challenges in the global supply chain.
“They don’t divulge anything of substance, they just say it is challenges with the global supply chain,” Dr Siyoi told People Daily yesterday.
He said that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) had confirmed to the board that the ventolin inhalers were already in the country but were still undergoing the quality assurance process to ascertain their quality.
He expressed optimism that the inhalers will be available in the market starting today.
“From the reports we have, asthma patients will have sufficient supply of the inhalers from tomorrow,” he said, adding that upto 40,000 pieces will be in the market today.
Payment system
“What I have heard is that of the shortage of some specific anti-cancer drugs, which I am also trying to find out,” he added.
But interviews with distributors revealed that most of the missing drugs were already in the high seas and expected in the country in the next few days.
“They have assured me they are on the way,” said one source.
Kenya Pharmaceutical Distributors Association (KPDA) chairman, Dr Kamamia Wa Murichu told People Daily the situation was worse in November last year, when there were practically no inhalers in the market.
“It is not just inhalers, there is a shortage of many drugs including cancer medications, and we are estimating this to be in the region of between 30-50 percent of all drugs out of stock,” he said.
Members of KPDA blamed out the government’s single payment system for the shortage of asthma inhalers and other key drugs, citing a situation where the State made a directive, and enforced it without having supporting infrastructure in place.
“There were no imports of drugs, and November was the worst month when we identified a shortage of 100 percent. Now the drugs are coming in but still there is a problem with the shortage of dollars since September last year,” Wa Murichu said.
“The problem is the logistics of the E-Citizen, and this is a government policy that is causing this,” he said, but added that matters had improved this week.