A storm is gathering over Kenya’s healthcare system as more than 21,000 essential medicines have been blocked from importation following recent regulatory changes by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB).
The move, which was meant to streamline oversight ahead of a World Health Organization audit, has instead triggered fears of a nationwide drug shortage that could hit within two weeks.
Kenya depends on imports for nearly 80 percent of its medicines.
The blocked drugs include antibiotics, insulin, cancer treatments, vaccines, and HIV therapies. Health experts warn that the consequences could be dire for millions of patients who rely on daily medication.
An estimated 1.5 million Kenyans living with diabetes could soon face a struggle to access insulin, while 2.2 million patients with hypertension risk doubled rates of stroke and heart attack.
Cancer patients, already burdened by the high cost of chemotherapy, may see prices rise by up to 50 percent. Even routine treatments such as malaria and blood pressure medication are expected to become scarce.
Economists predict the shortages will push up retail drug prices by as much as half, increasing the average monthly cost of diabetes care to over KES 9,000.
Out-of-pocket health spending, already at 26 percent of total expenditure, threatens to drive thousands of households into poverty.
The crisis also endangers the government’s Universal Health Coverage agenda, as pharmacies and hospitals face closures due to depleted stock.
The Kenya Pharmaceutical Distributors Association has called for President William Ruto’s immediate intervention to prevent a “preventable national disaster.”
Dr. Kamamia wa Murichu, the association’s chairman, urged the PPB to restore access to the blocked medicines, warning that failure to act would “plunge Kenya into a public health catastrophe.”
