Kemsa dismisses reports about stocking low quality medicines
The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority has dismissed as untrue and malicious media reports that it stocks poor quality and unregistered medicines.
In a statement on Sunday, the authority maintained that it has remained compliant with all the laws, rules and regulations in the procurement of health products and technologies.
Chief executive Edward Njoroge said the authority only procures HPTs authorised to be in the market by the regulators as set by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board and Kenya Bureau of Standards.
"During procurement, these HPTs are evaluated by the relevant technical teams both at Kemsa and in the ministry and only technically responsive bidders are awarded,” Njoroge said.
Kemsa said it has made it mandatory for bidders to attach certification from PPB and Kebs during submission of their bids in an advertised tender.
Njoroge added that during receipt of HPTs Kemsa subjects them to further inspection and laboratory testing as appropriate, either in their internal laboratory which is ISO 17025:2017 accredited or external laboratories for quality tests.
"In the rare event that there is a problem with any product after distribution, the product is recalled and replaced by the concerned supplier. We are not aware of any HPTs with quality issues,” Njoroge said.
The CEO said that Kemsa has detailed processes to detect a problem with any product across the supply chain and take urgent remedial measures.
Kemsa quality assurance manager John Aduda said that when a quality problem is detected at the facility, it is first reported to PPB.
"PPB will then contact us and when a decision to recall the product is made, the supplier is contacted and this done," Aduda said.
Chief pharmacist Fred Sioyi noted that PPB works in partnership with Kemsa to ensure that all HPTs being procured comply with the law.
“The technical teams in PPB and Kemsa work in harmony to ensure that bidders meet the required specifications before supplying the authority,” he said.
Sioyi added that both PPB and Kemsa are institutions responsible for guaranteeing that patients receive quality products right from registration, procurement, warehousing and distribution to end users.
Aduda pointed out that HPTs receipt processes are done in two stages.
In the pre-delivery evaluation stage, the product to be delivered is compared to the awarded tender sample. If it passes this stage, the supplier delivers the full consignment.
The next stage is the full consignment inspection. The consignment is placed in quarantine, inspected and tested as appropriate before being released to the warehouse for distribution.
In this stage Kemsa’s quality assurance officers undertake continuous monitoring of the products throughout their shelf lives.

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