Amukura: Amukura West Member of the County Assembly (MCA), Bonface Erute, has launched a revolving Ward Pharmacy in the Ward in efforts to improve service delivery and to save residents of the Ward from extortion by private pharmacies, which make health services expensive.
According to Kenya News Agency, the model pharmacy aims at ensuring all four dispensaries in the Ward have sufficient supply of drugs to improve the health services, which aligns with the Kenya Kwanza Manifesto of universal health services for all. Speaking at Lukolis Health Center, where the pharmacy will be located, Dr. Erute encouraged residents to embrace the pharmacy, highlighting its potential to protect them from exploitation by brokers while seeking health services.
In Busia, only 34 percent of people have access to essential health services, a gap that the private sector frequently tries to fill. However, this patchwork approach often drives up costs, making healthcare less affordable for the majority, according to Dr. Erute. The
Legislature has credited the Revolving Ward Pharmacy idea to benchmarking on Ampathy, which has a similar program ensuring patients with non-communicable diseases receive drugs at an affordable price.
Dr. Erute emphasized that this kind of pharmacy will be a pioneer and unique in the entire Busia County, aiming to provide citizens with quality healthcare services at a low cost. The initiative has seen an investment of Sh1 million from the Ward Development Fund to support the health sector through this pharmacy, which will also generate revenue for the development of the county.
This development coincides with President William Ruto’s ongoing encouragement for Kenyans to register for the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF). The President stressed the government’s commitment to ensuring no one is left behind as the implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) progresses. He mentioned the establishment of the Critical Illness Fund by law, designed to cover costs of illnesses such as cancer, ensuring no Ke
nyan will have to sell property to pay medical bills.