Don't panic, we have enough medicine, NSDCC says

Counties form national committee to ensure Usaid pull out does not cripple critical health services

by ERASTUS GICHOHI KNA

Health03 March 2025 - 22:03

In Summary

"The Kenyan government must seize this imminent US funding freeze to reorganise its operations and budget and plug in Sh25 billion funding gap moving forward,” said Dr. Masha.

The National Syndetic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC) has assured Kenyans that the country has enough anti-retroviral (ARVs) and tuberculosis drugs amidst fears over Usaid funding freeze.

The announcement comes amidst fears among the users of the critical medicines whose supplies have been funded by the US government since the year 2003 at the height of Aids pandemic scourge.

The freeze of US funding to the Usaid announced by President Donald Trump would see Kenya lose more than Sh25 billion yearly towards the health sector driven programmes, affecting more than 41,500 health care workers.

However, the NSDCC CEO Dr Ruth-Laibon Masha has said there is no cause for panic at the moment since there are enough supplies of ARVs and tuberculosis (TB) drugs.

Dr Masha said the government will move in to address the funding gap left from suspended US funding, adding that the critical drugs for the over 1. 3 million people living with HIV will be supplied to local health facilities and clinics soon.

Speaking during an engagement with County's Executive Members for Health in Naivasha, Dr Masha called for localised interventions to ensure all critical services in the fight against HIV/Aids are not affected.

The CEO tasked the counties to formulate supporting interventions and measures to address the funding deficit left including over 11,000 frontline health workers affected at the county levels.

"We have enough supplies for ARVs, tuberculosis drugs and condoms in the country and there's no need for panic among patients," assured Dr Masha.

Thanks to a coordinated funding from Kenyan government, Usaid, Global Fund and from other agencies, the country has made tremendous strides in the fight against HIV over the last 20 years, she said.

“Currently, 98 per cent of people living with HIV/Aids are aware of the status and are on treatment while 94 per cent have achieved viral suppression through the support of US-President's Emergency Plan for AIDs Relief (Pepfar),” she said.

However, Dr Masha noted that though the great success, statistics have indicated a worrying trend of increased infections among the young people driven by risky sexual behaviors and use of alcohol and drugs.

Dr. Masha called on the US to reinstate funding to help win the fight against HIV/Aids and TB.

"The Kenyan government must seize this imminent US funding freeze to reorganise its operations and budget and plug in Sh25 billion funding gap moving forward,” said Dr. Masha.

A board member with the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC) Khatri Ali, said that the Usaid funding freeze is a wakeup call for continued local funding support towards procurement of critical drugs.

The stakeholders’ engagement between the council and the counties will also see the formation of County's Stakeholders Implementation Committees to reorganises their health programmes and ensure critical health services are not affected.