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| Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa |
The Health Ministry has assured Kenyans that the country's entire Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centers are stocked with enough antiretroviral (ARV) medicines.
This is despite concerns over potential ARV drug shortages owing to recent financial problems in the healthcare sector.
In a statement released on Tuesday, March 25, the National AIDS & STI Control Program (NASCOP) addressed the public, emphasizing that both prevention and treatment ARVs are available at ART sites nationwide.
The government urged individuals receiving care to continue taking their prescribed medications daily without interruption.
"The Ministry of Health, through NASCOP, would like to assure all recipients of care that we have sufficient stocks of ARVs for both prevention and treatment," the statement read. "ARVs should therefore be taken daily without skipping doses or sharing."
In light of concerns about possible drug shortages, NASCOP also advised patients not to refill their prescriptions prematurely.
“Recipients of care are also advised not to refill ARVs before their due dates for fear of running out,” the statement added.
The guarantee comes at a critical time when the health system struggles to deal with the impact of a recent 90-day reduction in US foreign aid, affecting the availability of life-saving drugs such as ARVs.
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| Photo of USAID workers used for illustration |
The reduction has increased fears about the sustainability of life-saving healthcare programs, especially in areas that depend on foreign support.
The concerns were addressed by Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa while appearing before a Senate sitting, where she explained the interventions the government has put in place to cushion the health system from the financial crunch.
One of the interventions includes a request for Ksh33.5 billion in emergency allocation from the National Treasury for the continuation of critical health programs like HIV/AIDS treatment, malaria control, immunization, and family planning.
“To mitigate the impact of the funding withdrawal, the Ministry has requested an emergency allocation of Sh33.5 billion to bridge the gap and sustain critical health programs,” Barasa explained.
“This abrupt shift in financial support has disrupted essential services and ongoing initiatives, placing immense strain on our healthcare system, particularly in areas that heavily rely on official aid.”
In a move to address the immediate shortages, the Ministry has already dispatched over 2 million HIV drug packs to health facilities across the country.
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