Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo on Thursday flagged off drugs and medicine commodities worth Sh31 million, which will be distributed to 113 facilities in Nyamira County.
The governor instructed pharmacists to use the disbursed commodities rationally and transparently to ensure they serve the patients who visit the county healthcare facilities adequately.
“Our county has been grappling with a shortage of commodities, undermining our capacity to provide quality health services, which is why I am encouraging transparency in the management of these commodities for satisfactory service to patients, along with the measures initiated by the national government on commodity management.” Nyaribo stated.
He confirmed that his government is addressing three key issues in the health sector. The first was a request by the council of governors to those who want the county referral hospitals to operate separately and independently to allow the governors to concentrate on rural facilities, a suggestion they hope will be implemented by January next year.
The second issue the governor stated is setting up a county revolving fund to enable the county to procure drugs and other frequently used medical commodities and distribute them to patients at affordable prices before the National Treasury sends funds to the counties to do bulk procurement of drugs.
“Increases in our population lead to increased demand for health care services, and as a county, we must craft sustainable strategies for ensuring that our patients get the best health care services within our county,” Governor Nyaribo said.
The county boss said the third issue is utilising the Facility Improvement Fund (FIF) to undertake manageable tasks like infrastructure facelift works, payment of some contracted services, and procuring frequently used commodities to ensure services at all health facilities in the five sub-counties are efficient.
Nyaribo warned that his government will not spare any pharmacy or pharmacist outside the hospital facility trading stolen medical commodities because all commodities will be branded.
We shall ensure the law ruthlessly deals with both the seller and the supplier because these are the cartels that are disadvantageous to the poor and vulnerable residents in our county who struggle to afford even the very basic medication.
Governor Nyaribo assured that he will continue allocating enough funds to the healthcare sector because health service provision is his key agenda and focus in his manifesto.
He appreciated the collaboration they have had with their commodity suppliers, KEMSA, since devolution and encouraged them to improve their capacity to supply them with medical commodities because, in most instances, they are underserved, a scenario affecting efficient health care service delivery and hampering achieving the president’s agenda of Universal Health Coverage.
“We are collaborating with the national government in preparing for the predicted El Nino rains by the meteorological department. As a county, we are prepared for emergency responses in cases of disaster to mitigate against the effects of flooding, the spread of vector-borne diseases, and other emergencies bound to occur during the El Nino.” Nyaribo assured.
The acting County Executive Committee Member for Health, Benard Maina, thanked the Governor for his passion for the health sector and the priority he has given it to ensure that residents are free to undertake their daily businesses while in good health.
He further thanked him for initiating dialogue with doctors who had been on strike since last week until they agreed to call off their strike.
CEC Maina urged pharmacists to support the health facility administration’s mechanisms to ensure that drug stock lasts as scheduled to curb endless complaints from members of the public about the lack of drugs in public health facilities.
By Deborah Bochere
