Makueni County Governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana has flagged off seven trucks carrying medical supplies worth over Sh70 million to be distributed to various public health facilities across the county.
Prof Kibwana disclosed that the consignment purchased from Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies (MEDS) included drugs, non-pharmaceuticals, lab re-agents and personal protective equipment to ensure quality health care to the residents.
“This purchase is a supplementary order to another purchase we made earlier from The Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA) amounting to Sh90 million,” said the governor, while addressing the media at the Makueni County Referral Hospital before he flagged off the consignment.
He further said the Faith Based Health centres being supported by the County Government will benefit from the drugs in order to offer subsidized services to the people.
However, Prof Kibwana appealed to the National Government to change the mandatory procuring of medical supplies by the County Governments from KEMSA by allowing them to source for drugs from other credible vendors at a competitive rate.
“The National Government needs to rethink the KEMSA monopoly and change tact as we have seen it is not able to offer medical supplies to both levels of government adequately,” said the governor.
Speaking at the same function, the Deputy Governor who is also the Acting Executive Committee Member (ECM) for Health, Adelina Mwau, lauded the County Government for investing heavily in medical supplies to enhance Universal Healthcare (UHC) in the county.
She further disclosed that the County Government has increased the fee for Makueni care from Sh500 to sh1000, adding that beneficiaries will have to wait for two weeks to elapse before they can use the card.
“We have taken this measure collectively and it has even been passed in the assembly. This is geared towards raising more funds to offer quality health care services to our people” Mwau said.
Consequently, Mwau urged those who have not yet acquired the Makueni Care Card to do so in good time, so as to enable them access affordable medical services at various health facilities in the region.
Meanwhile, the County Government will soon launch a registration drive at the community level in order to register more residents to get the UHC scheme.
By Patrick Nyakundi and Lawrence Mwendwa
