- CS said Kemsa’s occupancy rate is currently 68%, but the county is responsible for ensuring supplies are ordered to ensure the facility is always full.
•Pharmacists say GSK’s popular Ventolin inhaler is completely unavailable.
Health CS Susan Nakmicha said the reported shortage of inhalers in the country was due to failures in the supply chain system.
Speaking at a media forum in Nairobi on Friday, Mr Nakumicha confirmed that GSK’s popular Ventolin inhaler had indeed sold out.
However, she pointed out that the salbutamol inhaler brand was stocked at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority.
“I went to the pharmacy last night to see if they had Ventolin in stock, and they confirmed that Ventolin was out of stock. However, Ventolin is a brand name.” , there are others recommended by the WHO.” “Even if you prescribe, use the generic name,” Nakmicha said.
She urged those wishing to purchase an inhaler to ask for alternatives in stock as salbutamol inhalers are available.
“Kemsa has a salbutamol inhaler and it goes to a public facility. So we don’t know what the private facilities are doing, but there are alternatives available on the US market, salbutamol inhalers. It is wise to prepare for this,” the CS said. Kemsa’s occupancy is currently 68%, but the county is responsible for making sure supplies are ordered to ensure the facility is always full.
She said there are issues across the supply chain that need to be resolved. “There are several locations in the counties that you go to, and I have walked around there, and there are also some pharmacies that are out of stock, and when you check to see if the product is available in Kemsa, it is a bottleneck in the supply chain system. “
CS says the ministry is working to procure an integrated health management information system that will connect facilities to Kemsa and allow facilities to check inventory levels with authorities and place orders at any time.
She reiterated the department’s commitment to working together to streamline supply chains and ensure counties benefit from the integrated health management information system being rolled out.
This week, drug importers blamed the government’s lump sum payment scheme for shortages of asthma inhalers and other essential medicines.
Pharmacists say GSK’s popular Ventolin inhaler is now completely unavailable.
Other brands of salbutamol inhalers are becoming scarce and expensive.
Inhalers are the safest and most effective treatment for asthma. These allow asthma patients to lead a normal, active life.
At the beginning of last year they were selling for about 250 shillings each, but now they sell for at least 500 shillings.