KEMSA Moves at Breakneck Pace to Deliver UAE‑Donated Medicines to All 47 Counties

The Kenya Medical Supplies Authority   (KEMSA) has launched an accelerated national distribution drive to deliver a major consignment of essential medicines donated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Ministry of Health (MOH) — deploying daily dispatches to six counties in a bid to serve all 47 counties within 10 days.The move underscores KEMSA’s role as Kenya’s strategic national medical logistics provider and its enhanced supply chain capabilities. 

The UAE contribution, comprising eight key life‑saving items including; Enalapril (10 mg), Amlodipine (5 mg), Losartan (50 mg), Metformin (500 mg), Azithromycin (500 mg), Amoxicillin (500 mg), Ciprofloxacin (500 mg) and Montelukast (10 mg) tablets — has already been received at KEMSA’s central warehouse in Embakasi and is now on a fast‑track delivery schedule.

This is the first time the Gulf partner has entrusted KEMSA as the official distribution channel for such a significant donation, signaling increasing confidence in the Authority’s logistics prowess.

Revamped Distribution Force and Digital Backbone

To handle the surge in outbound orders, KEMSA has realigned its distribution workforce and reorganized operational teams dedicated to county dispatches.

Staff have been re‑tasked into cross‑functional units — blending logistics planners, regional coordinators, fleet managers and county liaison officers to ensure that stocks move swiftly from the national warehouse to last‑mile health facilities without delay. 

Central to this accelerated rollout is KEMSA’s Logistics Management Information System (LMIS), a web‑based ordering, tracking and reporting platform that has helped revolutionize the health supply chain by giving counties and national planners real‑time visibility of stock levels, order status and delivery timelines.

Orders from counties for the UAE‑donated HPTs are being processed through the LMIS, which automates order entry, validates quantities and routes dispatch instructions to warehouse and transport teams — significantly reducing manual errors and improving accuracy and accountability. Once orders are dispatched, the system syncs with KEMSA’s electronic proof of delivery (e‑POD) app, which digitally confirms receipt at health facilities and updates the central database instantly. 

Supply Chain Transformation Drives Delivery Performance

The deployment of integrated digital systems like i‑LMIS has already transformed delivery performance across the health sector, reducing turnaround times, increasing order fill rates and drastically lowering stock‑out incidents at county facilities.

The technology also supports predictive planning and early warning alerts when supplies run low, enabling pre‑emptive replenishment. 

KEMSA’s proactive realignment of its distribution operations, combined with digitized order processing and GPS‑linked delivery confirmation tools, is expected to ensure that the UAE‑donated medicines reach even the most remote health facilities in a timely, accurate and accountable manner — reinforcing both the Authority’s supply chain leadership and Kenya’s broader Universal Health Coverage goals.