Kenya Medical Supplies Authority is a state corporation under the Ministry of Health established vide KEMSA Act 2013 with the mandate to;
- Procure, warehouse and distribute drugs and medical supplies for prescribed public health programs, the national strategic stock reserve, prescribed essential health packages and national referral hospitals.
- Establish a network of storage, packaging and distribution facilities for the provision of drugs and medical supplies to health institutions.
- Enter into partnership with or establish frameworks with County Governments for purposes of providing services in procurement, warehousing, distribution of drugs and medical supplies.
- Collect information and provide regular reports to the national and county government’s on the status and cost effectiveness of procurement, the distribution and value of prescribed essential medical supplies delivered to health facilities, stock status and on any other aspects of supply system status and performance which may be required by stakeholders.
- Support County Governments to establish and maintain appropriate supply chain systems for drugs and medical supplies.
Vision
Excellence in the provision of Health Products and Technologies and supply chain solutions in the East Africa Region.
Mission
To provide quality, affordable essential Health Products and Technologies and Supply Chain Solutions to save and transform lives.
Core Values
- Integrity
- Customer Focus
- Operational excellence
- Diversity and Inclusivity
- Empathy
- Innovation
- Trust
Quality Assurance Statement
KEMSA shall ensure and guarantee the quality of Health Products and Technologies that we procure, warehouse and distribute to our customers by adhering to statutory and regulatory requirements and international quality management systems.
History
In 1915 The Headquarter Medical Stores was established and existed as a medical department under the stewardship of Captain J.R. Robertson, the medical storekeeper (Principal Medical Officer).In 1924, the Headquarter Medical Stores created a Medical Department headed by senior Medical officer Dr. J. B. Clarke, the medical storekeeper under the Principal Medical Officer. The office of the Director of Medical Services was also created.
In 1927, Medical Store changed to Medical Stores and Equipment and was located at the Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbors headquarters in Nairobi.
Following Kenya’s independence, the Ministry of Health was created resulting in the integration of Medical Stores and Equipment into the mainframe of the ministry. Medical Stores and Equipment later changed its name to Central Medical Stores (CMS) and maintained its Local station until 1970.
On 30th July 1973 the Permanent Secretary, Office of the President requested that the store's system for medical supplies be re-organized to improve control and accountability. This project commenced on 2nd August 1973 and led to the development of the Central Medical Store Management Information system (CMS/MIS) where a more flexible, modifiable, and integrated system including control of orders entry, inventory control, sales analysis, financial management and accounts receivable and account payable were integrated. In the same year, other regional depots in Mombasa and Kisumu were constructed to serve Coast and Western provinces respectively.
In 1983, CMS reached a crucial stage in its history with the formation of Districts Health Management Teams (DHMTs). CMS later changed its name to Medical Supplies Coordinating Unit (MSCU) and relocated to a warehouse on Commercial Street, Industrial Area.
In 1996, the Ministry of Health set up a committee known as MSCU Working Group whose mandate was to reform and re-structure the MSCU. In 1998, Health stakeholders met at KCCT Mbagathi and recommended setting up an autonomous corporate entity to Plan, Procure, Warehouse and Distribute drugs and other medical supplies to Public Health Facilities.”
Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA) was established as a state corporate organization through a legal notice No. 17 of 2000, Cap 466 of the Laws of Kenyan 2000, and was operational in 2005.
Through an ACT of parliament in 2013, The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority Act was assented by the President, leading to a change from being an Agency to an Authority with the following mandate:
Procure, warehouse, and distribute drugs and medical supplies for prescribed public health programs, the national strategic stock reserve, prescribed essential health packages, and national referral hospitals.
Establish a network of storage, packaging, and distribution facilities for the provision of drugs and medical supplies to health institutions.
Enter into partnership with or establish frameworks with County Governments for purposes of providing services in procurement, warehousing, distribution of drugs, and medical supplies.
Collect information and provide regular reports to the national and County Governments on the status and cost-effectiveness of procurement, distribution, and value of prescribed essential medical supplies delivered to health facilities, stock status, and any other aspects of supply system status and performance which may be required by stakeholders.
Support County Governments to establish and maintain appropriate supply chain systems for drugs and medical supplies.
Business Model
Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) is a state corporation under the Ministry of Health established under the KEMSA Act 2013 whose mandate is to procure, warehouse and distribute medical commodities to public health facilities. KEMSA obtained ISO 9001:2008 Certification in 2010 and has subsequently successfully been re-certified every two years. KEMSA is currently on its 3rd cycle of recertification.
All KEMSA business processes are fully automated through the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Other automated systems include the Logistics Management Information System (LMIS) and the KEMSA e-mobile service.
KEMSA business model is necessitated by the fact that the country embraced a devolved system of governance hence the health function has been devolved to the Counties. It allows the Authority to run a self-sustainable supply system. Therefore KEMSA re-configured its business model in order to align itself with the devolved system of government to ensure that public health facilities access medical commodities. KEMSA has put systems and structures in place to ensure that supply of medical commodities to public health facilities continues uninterrupted.
Under the new not-for-profit self-sustaining commercial business model the county health facilities will order and pay for their medical commodities on a demand driven supply system. The funds acquired from these sales goes towards replenishing our stock. KEMSA ensures that its medical commodities stocks are in line with market demands and the necessary transport system is in place which includes outsourced transport, courier service and its own fleet to ensure timely dispatch of all commodities ordered by the county health facilities.
Old Model: New Model: Commodities Medical commodities and medical supplies bought by KEMSA with funds provided by the Ministry of Health Commodities KEMSA will be responsible for procurement of medical commodities and supplies with its own funds Commodity Order Management Ordering was done quarterly by the facilities on a PULL system (Demand Driven) Commodity Order Management Ordering will be done by counties according to their needs Payment Ministry of Health reimbursed for distribution costs and paid for warehousing costs Payment The county governments will be meet the cost of distribution and commodities Stock Replenishment Ministry of Health Replenished the stocks through procurement by KEMSA Stock Replenishment KEMSA shall replenish its stocks from funds realized from sales of commodities to counties