Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has sounded the alarm over the massive wastage of drugs in Kenya’s public health system, revealing that the government now requires KSh600 million to destroy expired medicine currently stockpiled across distribution stores.
Speaking in Mombasa during the 45th Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK) conference, Duale disclosed that expired drugs worth KSh90.5 billion had gone to waste over the last year, a staggering figure that reflects deep-rooted inefficiencies in the country’s pharmaceutical supply chain.
“We are sitting on drugs worth KSh90.5 billion that have expired, and now we need another KSh600 million just to safely dispose of them,” Duale told delegates at the conference.
He also raised alarm over Kenya’s medicine expiry rate, which currently stands at 32%, far above the global standard of 3% to 5%. The CS noted that such high wastage not only drains public funds but also threatens the integrity and efficiency of healthcare delivery across the country.
“This is unacceptable. We cannot afford to continue wasting public resources at this scale while Kenyans in hospitals go without essential medicines,” he added.
Duale called for urgent reforms in procurement, distribution, and inventory management to prevent future losses, warning that the sector must embrace accountability and better forecasting to align supply with real demand.
The issue has sparked concern among stakeholders in the health sector, who say such wastage could be curbed through digitized supply chains, improved transparency, and decentralization of drug distribution to county health facilities.
As the government moves to tackle the crisis, the Ministry of Health is expected to table a new policy framework to address drug expiry and streamline pharmaceutical logistics nationwide.
