Imagine traveling several kilometers to a public hospital, waiting for hours to see a doctor, only to discover that the medicine you need is unavailable. For many patients, this is an experience that turns seeking treatment into another financial burden.
Medicine shortage in public hospital are becoming a serious concern that deserve urgent attention. Patients who depends on government facilities are sometimes forced to purchase prescribed medicine from private chemist , where prices may be beyond their reach . For low income families, this can mean delaying treatment or struggling to meet other household needs .
The situation is particularly worrying for patients living with chronic illness who depends on regular medication. Cancer patients people undergoing dialysis and care cannot afford interruption in essential treatment.
In August 2026, the Daily Nation reported shortage of essential medicine, and medical supplies in public hospitals , including some cancer and dialysis commodities. The report highlighted how shortage can disrupt treatment and force patient to seek expensive alternative.
Even more concerning, principal secretary for medical services, Dr Ouma Oluga, revealed 90-92 percent access to essential medicine at patient level remained as low as 51 percent in some facilities.
This raises an important question: If medicine are being supplied why are patient still struggling to find them ? The government must look beyond procurement figures and investigate what happens between the delivery of medicine and their availability to patients. Poor stock management, distribution challenges , wastage and possible misuse of public resources must be addressed.
Hospital management also has a responsibility to ensure that medicine reach the people they are intended to serve . Transparent procurement, regular stock audits and proper monitoring of pharmaceutical supplies should become standard practice.
KEMSA and County government must strengthen their working relationship to ensure that hospital receive supplies according to actual patient needs . The government should also support local pharmaceutical manufacturing to reduce dependence on external suppliers and improve the reliability of medicine supplies, most importantly patients should not be left to carry the burden of weakness within the healthcare system, public hospitals exist to serve citizens, including those who cannot afford expensive private treatment. Healthcare is not meaningful when patient receive a diagnosis but cannot access the medicine needed to recover .
Kenya must therefore move beyond promises of improving healthcare and ensure that essential medicine are available in every public hospitals. A prescription should be path towards recovery not another financial struggle for an already suffering family.
