Top health officials will now be held personally accountable for expired medical supplies bought with public funds, following a new directive by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale aimed at addressing widespread wastage in the health sector.

Speaking during a strategic meeting with Kemsa’s board and senior management in Embakasi, Nairobi, Duale said senior officials at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency will be fined for any expired drugs found in their stores.

He also instructed all referral hospitals to prioritise procurement of medical supplies from Kemsa before considering other sources.

“I have directed that all referral health facilities should first buy drugs from Kemsa. And if we find any expired drugs here, we will surcharge the CEO and all the directors if even one drug expires,” said Duale.

The CS said the directive is part of a wider plan to shift Kemsa from a supply-driven model to one that responds to actual facility needs, in a bid to avoid overstocking and expiry of drugs.

“This is not just a waste of resources, it is a betrayal of public trust,” Duale said, citing data that puts Kenya’s drug expiry rate at 32 percent—well above the global average of between 3 and 5 percent.

He said inspections of more than 300 government hospitals and Kemsa warehouses had uncovered large quantities of expired medicine, with some stock going back several years.

“Nearly a third of all drugs procured for public use expire before they are even distributed. The value of expired stock could have covered the entire annual health budgets of several counties, built hundreds of new hospitals, or paid thousands of frontline health workers,” he said.

According to the Health Ministry, at least Sh600 million is needed to safely dispose of the expired medical products, which are valued at Sh90 billion and are currently sitting in government storage facilities.

Kemsa has already destroyed Sh1.8 billion worth of expired stock in September 2023. The agency was previously flagged in 2022 for another batch of expired medical supplies worth Sh328 million.

Duale said poor forecasting and bulk purchasing without proper demand assessment at health facilities have played a major role in the problem. Kemsa officials, for their part, blamed the issue on inefficient procurement systems, outdated processes, and sluggish decision-making.

County officials told the ministry that financial challenges, supply chain bottlenecks, and the absence of clear disposal policies have made matters worse.

In Trans Nzoia, local health officers said most of their expired supplies came from uncoordinated donations. In Kilifi, officials pointed to expired drugs from national health programmes targeting HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, blaming outdated stock systems and changes in treatment guidelines.

In response, Duale directed Kemsa to make its regional warehouses fully functional and improve last-mile delivery to ensure medicines reach health facilities on time.

“Kemsa must become a high-performing, agile, and ethical institution that delivers for the people. The health of our citizens depends on a supply system that works, one that counties and communities can trust,” he said.