USAID has insisted it will not do business with the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority, saying some ARVs supplied there are sometimes found in South Sudan, Somalia and in private hospitals.
Regular audits over the years show about 30 per cent of the ARVs and diagnostics distributed by Kemsa are never fully accounted for, a USAID official told the Star.
The decision was communicated to President Uhuru Kenyatta after his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 27, after which Uhuru disbanded Kemsa board two days later.
“This decision has been communicated from the highest level in Washington DC so even after Kemsa board was disbanded this will not help,” the official said.
The decision strengthens the deadlock over the Sh1 billion donated ARVs stuck at customs-bonded warehouses in Mombasa.
Kenya Revenue Authority had levied the consignment Sh90 million tax because US private company Chemonics was listed as the consignee.
USAID insists the drugs should be distributed by the private company and not Kemsa, and has refused to pay the tax.
However, the KRA waived the tax after which a part of the consignment – consisting of lab reagents, HIV test kits and viral load test kits – were released to Kemsa last month.
In an online meeting with Kenyan civil society on Tuesday, acting US Ambassador Eric Kneedler confirmed the remaining ARVs will not be released to Kemsa.
He said they are ready to distribute through any other firm.
USAID has previously complained about 30 per cent of all ARVs distributed through Kemsa are not accounted for.
Some of them have been found in neighbouring countries or being sold in private hospitals in Nairobi.
Since then, USAID has always looked to establish its own, parallel drug distribution system in Kenya through Chemonics International.
Chemonics also distributes ARVs for USAID and Global Fund, another major donor, in West African countries.
In March, Global Fund accused Chemonics of colluding with a subcontractor in Nigeria to defraud the donor of $3 million through inflated invoices.
“The secretariat will finalise and pursue from Chemonics an appropriate recoverable amount from the non-compliant expenditures identified in this report,” the Global Fund said in March.
Last month, Kenyan MPs also faulted USAID for using Chemonics.
“We have information that the company engaged by USAID to distribute ARVs has been accused of corruption in Nigeria due to neglect of staff in review of invoices,” said Joshua Kutuny, the vice chairperson of the National Assembly Health committee.
On April 29, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said the government is planning to roll out local manufacturing of antiretroviral drugs in a move to curb shortage.
He said Kenya cannot continue depending on foreign nations for the support of ARVs. He spoke during an inspection tour of the Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi, Taita Taveta.
He assured the public that the drugs shortage will soon end.
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