chiefs for stop stockouts

The pill-check dissemination meeting in Traditional Authority Mwambo in Zomba, The TA and his subjects were fired up to note that the there was rampant essential medicines stock outs coupled with Volunteers deployed at their health center were rude and that one time they caught a health worker diverting 17 tins of medicines to sell to private shops at the Jali Trading center and yet when they brought the matter to the officer-in charge, the story was swept under the carpet.

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KENYA STOP STOCK OUTS TEAM HOSTS HEALTH CIVIL SOCIETY

The Kenya Stop Stock- Outs (SSO) team on the 4th of November 2009 hosted Health Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to a half day workshop in Nairobi. The workshop targeted all levels of health CSOs- from those working on policy issues those delivering services especially to the poor and vulnerable. All of the participants at the workshop have been involved in health issues; with some having worked on Access to Medicines issues.
The objectives of the workshop were:
 To share experiences on access to medicines, stock outs of medicines and efforts towards influencing policies and practices that support sustainable access to medicines- including successes and challenges
 To strengthen health CSOs participation in Access to medicines issues
 To promote a joint efforts towards campaigning/ advocating against stock outs of medicine
Besides achieving the above objectives the workshop was expected to popularize the SSO Campaign beyond the four organizations represented in the team.
The participants were very enthusiastic and supportive of the SSO campaign. They shared their own experiences in working on health and Access to medicines issues from which the SSO team should learn from; and made very concrete suggestions some of which are highlighted below:
 Consider linkages with other related issues and focus on strategies with biggest impact. Access to Healthcare is a complex issue affected by many inter- related factors which should not be looked at in isolation, for instance by engaging networks like the International Network for the Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) to tackle issues of rational use of medicines
 The campaign should focus on decentralizing its message so that there is support even beyond Nairobi. For this to happen there is need for resource mobilization and working with interested CSOs to support activities at their level of operation
 CSOs should not focus on criticizing the government but offer sustainable solutions to the problem
 Deeper engagement of communities so that they can be part of the solution at their own level e.g. through involvement at health center management teams, involvement in developing respective community health strategies, monitoring of medicines availability
 Managing public expectations. Once public awareness has been raised, it is critical to know before hand how to handle their expectations.
 Lobby for rationalization of health ministries to ensure efficient use of available budgetary allocation to Health
 Joint advocacy and community awareness raising
 Take advantage of health related days to capture the public and media attention such the World Aids Day
 Adopt different, more innovative and specific approaches for targeting different stakeholder groups. For instance some approaches may be effective for community awareness and mobilization, but probably not for policy level dialogue
 Effective organization of CSOs to ensure that they are able to take advantage of upcoming opportunities such as the on- going reforms at the Kenya Medical Supply Agency (KEMSA).
 Information sharing, proper coordination and linkages/ networking with other initiatives to avoid duplication and to strengthen respective initiatives.
As we move forward with the campaign, getting the support of other civil society organizations is critical. Some of the organizations are involved at the grassroot level and will be critical in community mobilization while others work at the policy level and their support in policy advocacy around issues of availability of medicines cannot be ignored.

KENYA STOP STOCK OUTS TEAM TO HOLD HEALTH CIVIL SOCIETY MEETING

The Kenya Stop Stock- Outs (SSO) Team will on the 4th of November 2009 host Health Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to a half day workshop in Nairobi. The workshop targets all levels of health CSOs- from those working on policy influence to those delivering services especially to the poor and vulnerable.

While majority of the participants are drawn from the Capital, Nairobi, there is deliberate effort to have some representation from the other two cities- Mombasa and Kisumu- to decentralize the campaign.

The Kenyan team has so far been successful in creating of awareness to the public and policy makers through public fora and media engagement. “As we move into policy dialogue with policymakers and politicians, it is critical that we seek the support of other Health CSOs beyond those represented in the SSO team.” Said Emma Wanyonyi of Consumer Information Network

The major objectives of the workshop are:
 Share experiences on access to medicines, stock outs of medicines and efforts towards influencing policies and practices that support sustainable access to medicines
 Popularize the ‘Stop Stock- Outs’ Campaign amongst health CSOs, build support for it and make ‘stock- outs’ a common issue amongst the Health CSOs in Kenya
 Strengthen health CSOs participation in Access to Medicines issues, and promote a joint efforts towards ‘stock outs’ campaign

Snap survey reveals medicine stockouts still plague Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia

During ‘pill check week’, researchers visited public health institutions countrywide and checked on the availability of a list of 10 essential medicines. These are medicines that should be readily available in public health facilities.

Using innovative technology, the team then reported the results through short messaging services (SMS) to a common site, and the data has been reflected in the map above that shows areas where medication is out of stock.

If you clickon the map, you will be taken to a page where you can see which medicines were out of stock and unavailable during the researchers’ spot check.

SMS pill check findings released to Kenyan media

The Kenyan team held a successful press conference on 30/06/09 with 22 journalists in attendance from various print, electronic and online media houses in the country. Patrick Mubangizi (HAI Africa), Emma Wanyonyi (CIN), David Musyoki (KEHPCA), and James Kamau (KETAM) spoke at the press conference while Eve Odette (OXFAM) moderated the event.

The stock-out story was aired on KTN TV, K24 TV, Kiss FM, Classic FM, Capital FM, KBC Radio, Ramogi Radio, Bibilia Husema, Nairobi Star newspaper, and Africa Science News Services (online) among others. The links to some of the articles that appeared are below.

http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/Local/Kenya-health-facilities-lack-drugs,-say-activists-4942.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzFvtUWy2DM&feature=channel_page

http://www.rhsupplies.org/about_us.html

During the SMS pill check week, data collectors were able to gather information from over 150 primary health facilities from around the country and with technical assistance from OSI fellow Michael Ballard, the information was uploaded on the stock-out site.

General findings indicated that stock outs of the EM is widespread and covers a wide range of the 10 essential drugs surveyed. The results will be used as an advocacy tool as the Kenyan team seeks to engage the government.

The team is still working towards engaging the government through the relevant Ministries and government agencies involved in medicine procurement and supply. In particular the team has requested a meeting with the two Health Ministries following which we intend to seek out the medicine supply agency (KEMSA).

The team has also written to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Ministry of Finance in relation to taxation of Morphine which still contributes greatly to the unavailability and high cost of this drug. Morphine is commonly used by cancer and HIV/AIDS patients as a pain reliever.

Stop stock-oute press release

Mombasa forum a huge success!

The Kenyan team organised a successful public forum in Mombasa, the second largest city in Kenya, on June 23rd at the Mombasa Municipal Stadium. The public forum was intended to publicize the campaign and its objectives, to create public pressure for reforms within the Kenya Medical Supply Agency (KEMSA) and to publicize the SMS pill check week.

There were about 100 people in attendance comprised of Civil Society organizations (CSOs), Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as well as the general public mobilized by the local administration. The attendees were very enthusiastic about the campaign and gave moving testimonies about their stock-outs experiences in the district. They were glad that the forum enlightened and educated them on their right to access medicine and to push government for the same. They said it was a good idea to have a forum such as this to share their plight in accessing essential medicine and to point out negligence among health workers in public health facilities.

The participants were enthusiastic and called on the stock-outs team to advocate for this issue so that it is widespread and called upon the government to act quickly to provide essential medicines in order to avert unnecessary deaths. The Kenyan team also launched the SMS campaign and informed the members of the public to text in when they experience stock-outs in public health institutions.

As a followup, the team intends to continue engaging local organizations and empowering them to be able to further involve the public through the local media. In addition, the team will demand that policymakers, politicians and parliamentarians put issues of essential medicines and drug availability on their agenda. A similar forum is planned for Kisumu, a city in the Western part of Kenya in the second week of July.

Kenyan team organizes two public forums

The Kenya ‘Stop- stock out’ campaign team is organizing two public forums to spread out the campaign message to the people on the ground as well as to create better awareness of stock outs and unavailability of essential medicines around the country.

The public forums will be held on 23 June in the coastal city of Mombasa and in the first week of July in Kisumu in Western Kenya. The forums are expected to bring together policy makers, health professionals, and civil society organizations working on health issues.

The forums will offer a good opportunity for consumers and patients to discuss problems around access to essential medicines including the causes and possible solutions. The forums are also expected to empower the public to put pressure on government to provide essential medicines in public health institutions and demand that the recommendations of the task force put up to look into the Kenya medical Supply Agency (KEMSA) be implemented.

The taskforce had recommended among others that KEMSA be given financial and operational autonomy and procurement functions be solely left to it so that it can comply with Public Procurement Regulations as outlined in the Public Procurement Act.

The two forums are being organized by the Kenyan campaign team members who include Consumer Information Network (CIN Kenya), Kenya Access Treatment Movement (KETAM) and Kenya Hospice and Palliative Care Association (KEPHCA).