Fake drugs, shortages and high costs major threat to access to medicine, CS Barasa

Many patients across the country are increasingly facing a dire shortage of essential medicines, particularly for cancer treatment, while also contending with the growing menace of counterfeit and substandard drugs.

Health Cabinet Secretary Dr Deborah Barasa on Thursday said the situation, exacerbated by financial constraints and inefficiencies in medicine procurement has put the country’s healthcare system under immense pressure.

Speaking during the inaugural Axmed Access Sumit, the Cabinet Secretary admitted to this crisis but assured that the government through her ministry was putting measures in place to resolve the issues.

“We strive to procure these medications, but they are extremely expensive, as a result, we often have to buy in small quantities, which affects supply consistency. However, we are working toward ensuring a more stable provision soon,” said Dr Barasa.

While emphasizing that purchasing medicines in small batches drives up costs significantly, she said to counter this, the government is implementing bulk procurement strategies to lower prices and improve accessibility.

According to her, efforts are underway to enhance local pharmaceutical manufacturing and streamline supply chains to ensure last-mile distribution. 

"We are prioritizing essential medicines, including vaccines, and securing resources to make them available to all Kenyans," said Barasa adding, "However, some treatments, such as chemotherapy drugs, remain prohibitively expensive due to our current purchasing approach. If we can increase bulk procurement, prices will drop significantly just as we recently saw with Herceptin, whose cost fell from Sh66,000 to Sh23,000."

The CS further said the country is also grappling with a looming shortage of other essential medicines, including vaccines for children, ARVs for HIV patients, and crucial life-saving drugs.

The scarcity has left vulnerable populations at significant risk, with public health experts warning that prolonged stockouts could lead to increased mortality rates.

While shortages remain a pressing issue, another silent but deadly crisis is unfolding which is the proliferation of substandard and falsified (SF) medical products. Fake medicines, often containing harmful substances or incorrect dosages, have infiltrated Kenya’s pharmaceutical supply chain, leading to severe health complications, treatment failures, and even fatalities.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that one in ten medical products in circulation globally is falsified.

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Kenya, where 90 per cent of the global disease burden exists, an alarming 3.5 million deaths annually are linked to inadequate access to essential medicines.

Despite efforts to regulate the sector, Kenya’s pharmaceutical market remains vulnerable to counterfeit drugs due to weak enforcement mechanisms and high medication costs that drive patients to seek cheaper alternatives, often from unverified sources.

One of the biggest hurdles to accessing quality medication in Kenya is the exorbitant cost of pharmaceutical products.

The country's procurement and distribution systems are plagued by inefficiencies that significantly inflate drug prices, making even basic treatments unaffordable for millions.

According to industry experts, the current supply chain model in Kenya adds between 300 per cent and 500 per cent in markups to the base price of medicines. This makes it nearly impossible for low-income patients to afford necessary treatments, further deepening the healthcare crisis.

Recognizing the urgent need for intervention, Kenya’s Ministry of Health has partnered with private sector organizations and international stakeholders, including the Gates Foundation and Axmed, to improve medicine accessibility and affordability.

Axmed, a health-tech company, recently launched the Axmed Medicines Platform, a pioneering procurement system designed to streamline medicine access by aggregating demand, reducing costs, and ensuring compliance with WHO-prequalified suppliers. The platform aims to eliminate middlemen who contribute to high drug prices and inefficiencies in the supply chain.

During the inaugural Axmed Access Summit in Nairobi, global healthcare leaders came together to discuss innovative solutions to Kenya’s medicine crisis. Emmanuel Akpakwu, CEO of Axmed, emphasized the importance of rethinking medicine procurement to ensure no patient is left behind.

"Our mission is simple: No patient should be left behind," Akpakwu said. "By aggregating demand across multiple buyers, we lower costs and enable suppliers to forecast demand more accurately. This improves efficiency, benefiting both patients and suppliers."

While initiatives like the Axmed Medicines Platform offer hope, experts stress the need for stronger regulatory frameworks to curb the circulation of counterfeit drugs.

The Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) has been urged to enhance surveillance and enforcement efforts, ensuring that only quality-approved medications reach the market.

Additionally, increased government investment in the pharmaceutical sector is crucial. Health economists argue that Kenya must prioritize funding for essential medicines to prevent stockouts and reduce dependency on costly emergency procurements.

"As a country, we need to commit to long-term solutions," said Dr Peter Mutua, a health policy expert.

"This means strengthening local pharmaceutical manufacturing, improving procurement policies, and ensuring adequate budget allocations for medicine supplies,” he said.