Nairobi’s Eastleigh health facility in dire need of drugs

Nairobi’s Eastleigh Health Centre has not received any drugs and non-pharmaceuticals supplies since December last year. PHOTO: COURTESY

Nairobi’s Eastleigh Health Centre has not received any drugs and non-pharmaceuticals supplies since December last year.

The health facility, which caters for hundreds of patients in Eastlands, last received drugs worth Sh227 million in September 2015.

According to a report by the Nairobi County Assembly’s Health Committee, the facility has also not been allocated any funds for the maternity reimbursement kitty for over a year now.

“A visit to the facility by the Health Committee members revealed that the pharmacy has only TB drugs. Other available drugs are expired,” states the report.

The health centre attends to an average of 80 to 100 patients below the age of five and between 80 and 150 patients above the age of five in a day.

This is against a lean staff of two clinical officers, four nurses and a nutritionist.

EXISTING DEBT

The report stated the supply made last year was only enough to last for the first quarter of the 2015-2016 financial year.

The Manoah Mboku-led committee said the lack of drugs and non-pharmaceuticals supply was because of an existing debt of Sh78 million owed to the Kenya Medical Supplies Authorities (Kemsa).

This, it stated, interfered with the committee’s intention of turning the institution into a 24-hour service facility.

Mr Mboku said the authority had cut down on its supply chains to the institution after the county government failed to pay the debt within the set 90 days.

He added the county had tried to submit new orders for drugs but they could not be processed until the accounts department at Kemsa cleared the county.

Additionally, the report noted the delay in releasing the free maternity reimbursement was hindering service delivery not only in the facility but also in other health institutions across the county.

Also, funds meant to benefit women during delivery were last deposited in September last year.

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