Kenya’s ARV supplies to last six months, experts warn

According to latest data, Kenya’s ARVs stock is expected to last only six more months, prompting some patients to hoard the medication in anticipation of a shortage.

The development coincides with the revelation that over 41,000 employees, predominantly health workers, were affected by the recent freeze in US foreign aid, with counties stating that they lack the capacity to integrate them into their systems.

This came to light during a multi-sectorial consultative meeting with County stakeholders on the sustainability response to HIV and syndemic diseases, held at the Lake Naivasha Resort.

Speaking during the workshop, Khatra Ali, a board member with the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC), pointed out that there is an urgent need to address the ARVs stock deficit as the effects of the funding freeze continue to be felt throughout the health sector.

Ali, a representative of the Council of Governors (COG) in the NSDCC, pointed out that due to the crisis, the number of HIV patients seeking medication to stockpile has been steadily increasing.

She mentioned that the available supplies will last for approximately six months, and the queues at hospitals to access these drugs have become long, as people try to stock up.

Further, Ali acknowledged that the budget cut has had a significant negative impact on health, as many programs funded by the US government, including HIV services, TB, and Malaria programs, have been affected.

“Most of the programs being supported by the U.S. like HIV, TB and Malaria are donor programs. Right now, we are in a mess, most of our data are with the U.S. government. If we are unable to download our data within 90 days the system will shut down,” she said.

“The supplies we have will last us for just six months; People want to keep stock because they don’t want to find themselves in a mess.”

However, Ali expressed optimism that the current challenges could be addressed through collaboration between the national government, donors and counties.

“We don’t need magic from heaven; It is us to basically see what we can be able to do and I’m glad that some of the counties are trying to integrate services so that at least the healthcare workers who were laid off are integrated,” said Ali.

NSDCC CEO Dr Ruth Masha has however downplayed the shortage of ARVs, noting that the country had ample stock and was working with other development partners.

Addressing the press on the sidelines of the meeting, she called on HIV/AIDS patients to continue taking the medication, noting that they did not anticipate a shortage of any kind.

“The Kenyan government provides ARVs and not just the donors. The U.S contribution was large however we are going to look at other funding streams and see how we reorganize ourselves. The patients should continue taking their drugs; we don’t anticipate a time that we will not have drugs,” she said.