KEMSA boss - Political goodwill playing a pivotal role in reforms

Speaking in Lusaka, Zambia, when she delivered a keynote address at the inaugural Human Resources for Supply Chain Management for Africa conference (PtD Global Indaba), KEMSA CEO Terry Ramadhani said political goodwill in Kenya, in recent times, has facilitated reforms at the national health commodities supply chain organisation.

"Without political goodwill at the national and county levels, KEMSA would not have managed to achieve the last-mile delivery of health commodities worth more than Ksh.27 billion to more than 8,700 health facilities in the last financial year," she noted.

In a panel discussion focusing on enhancing political will and building an enabling environment for human resources (HR) for supply chain management (SCM), Ramadhani confirmed that National Government investments in KEMSA had been hugely important in providing access to good quality and affordable healthcare in Kenya.

“In Kenya, we’re ramping up efforts to upscale universal health coverage, and professionalisation is key to this.” Professionalising the supply chain profession means transforming it into a recognised career of the highest integrity,” she said.

"Staff retention is part of KEMSA’s plan to progress to the next level and ensure every level of the population, including those in remote areas, receive the health care they require."

The KEMSA boss confirmed that the authority had received the political support necessary to activate much-needed reforms that allowed transparency and accountability in the supply of health commodities. The support from the national and devolved unit’s leadership, Ramadhani said, had also enabled KEMSA to operationalise a new operating plan dubbed the KEMSA 2.0 strategy.

The KEMSA 2.0 strategy she apprised the more than 250 delegates attending the conference focuses on building momentum for organisational productivity; to guarantee efficient last mile delivery of health commodities countrywide. KEMSA, she added, has also recently adopted a new organisational structure to ensure compliance with oversight requirements.

“The Kenyan experience provides a good learning experience. The political establishment has been committed to reforms at KEMSA to guarantee efficient service delivery,” Ramadhani said.

“For KEMSA, political support has also involved active stakeholder engagements with the new County Leadership to ensure prompt last mile delivery of health commodities and to unlock more than Kshs 2 billion worth of pending bills.”

Organised by People that Deliver (PtD), a 28-strong coalition housed at the headquarters of the UNICEF Supply Division in Copenhagen, the Indaba is the first conference to focus on human resources (HR) for supply chain management (SCM) to take place in Africa. The theme of the inaugural Indaba is human resources for supply chain management: the missing link to maximising supply chain performance.

The success of public health commodity supply chain agencies, Ramadhani said, will continue to rely on enhanced political will and the building of an enabling environment for robust human resources for supply chain management at country and regional levels.

International delegates at the People that Deliver (PtD) Global Indaba, the first conference to focus on human resources (HR) for supply chain management (SCM), celebrated the Kenyan reform agenda, which has been hailed as a model approach for sustainable health supply chain transformation.

Zambia First Lady Mrs Mutinta Hichilema lauded African Health Supply Chain officials and delegates at the conference, which featured a high number of Women leaders. Alongside Ms Ramadhani, Burkina Faso’s Purchasing Centre for Generic Essential Drugs and Medical Consumables (CAMEG) Director General Dr Anne-Maryse K’Habore and Zambia’s Minister of Health, Sylvia Masebo also attended the conference. 

“The future is indeed brighter when women and girls are present at every table where decisions are made,” Mrs Hichilema said. 

Zambia’s Minister for Health, Sylvia Masebo, described the conference as a timely intervention to help advance ongoing efforts to transform health commodity supply chain agencies into responsive performance-oriented organisations.

“This conference could not have been held at a better time,” Masebo said, adding, “The successful procurement, storage and distribution of essential medicines and other medical supplies are critical for maintaining the health of all citizens.”

According to PtD chair Lloyd Matowe, the Global Indaba is a milestone occasion for HR for SCM in Africa and across health systems throughout low- and middle-income countries. 

“The World Health Organisation and the entire public health community agree that universal health coverage cannot be achieved without an adequately staffed and skilled health workforce. 

“The Global Indaba offers the perfect platform to help countries support the health supply chain workforce; decision-makers can share their common challenges and innovative solutions, and donors and development partners can hear about where investment is lacking,” he said.

The two-day conference, which has attracted delegates from over 40 countries, is centred on presentations, panel discussions and workshops aligned with the four pathways of the PtD Theory of Change: skills, staffing, motivation and working conditions.

The ongoing transformation efforts spearheaded by the new KEMSA board, backed by the Government through the Ministry of Health, are geared at improving organisational governance, integrity and efficiency.

Over the years, several oversight bodies have cited the organisational structure as an impediment to KEMSA’s service delivery capacity. As currently structured, KEMSA has not operated at the required optimum levels to support critical functions, including planning, quality management, partnerships, resource mobilisation and compliance assurance mechanisms which have heavily affected the Authority’s effectiveness and productivity.