Kenya: KEMSA Launches 2011-2016 Strategic Plan and Support Programme
By NewsfromAfrica
NAIROBI--The Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA) has launched the 2011-2016 Strategic Plan that charts out the direction the Agency will take for the next five years and the mechanisms it will use to achieve its strategic objectives. KEMSA’s vision is to become a medical logistics service organization of choice by providing reliable, effective and sustainable services that support health care delivery. The new Strategic Plan builds on the reforms and transformation initiatives that KEMSA has been undertaking and that are intended to make the organization effective and efficient in the delivery of its services. The Strategic Plan was developed through technical and financial assistance of the USAID-funded Capacity Kenya Project.
During the launch that was attended by senior Ministry of Health officials and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), USAID unveiled the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA) Support Program, a KES 900 million investment. The two-year KEMSA Support Program is being implemented by Deloitte Consulting, LLP (US), in collaboration with local partners. The program collaborates with complementary USAID- and other donor-funded programs to enhance KEMSA’s capacity to procure, store and distribute health commodities to public healthcare facilities throughout the country.
The Program is strengthening KEMSA’s legal framework and governance and management practices, including its financial management. In addition, the Program is working to improve KEMSA’s capability to operate customer-driven procurement, warehousing and distribution services and to set, track and measure its performance against organizational goals and competencies. Through its implementation, the Program is strengthening the skills and knowledge of KEMSA staff in order to more ably sustain a strong, efficient, effective and accountable supply chain organization. These activities will ensure that KEMSA is able to provide the right quantity of quality commodities to Kenya’s health facilities in a timely manner.
The launch of KEMSA Support Program and the 2011-2016 Strategic Plan is in line with the Government of Kenya’s Comprehensive Health Policy Framework (CHPF) 2011-2030, through which Kenya seeks to increase equitable access to health services via interventions contained in the Kenya Essential Package for Health (KEPH).The launch of the KEMSA Support Program and the 2011-2016 Strategic Plan is therefore a significant step toward Kenya’s Vision 2030 goal of strengthening the health system to improve the health outcomes of the Kenyan people.