Cancer Patients Suffer as Kenyatta National Hospital Runs Out of Crucial Drugs

Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has reportedly run out of crucial breast cancer drugs, living hundreds of patients visiting the facility daily exposed.

Daily Nation reports that the country's largest referral hospital run out of the medicine about a month ago, with patients visiting the facility lamenting of the inconsistency in its supply.

The drug, Herceptin, which is capable of curing early stages of the disease, 
allegedly got out of stock at KNH after the Ministry of Health failed to honour its financial obligation on procurement.

A dose of Herceptin costs Sh250,000, and a patient needs 18 doses, making it expensive for many Kenyans to afford. KNH gives the drug to cancer patients for free.

A patient who spoke to Daily Nation said patients seeking the drug were turned away and asked to wait longer as the hospital had run out of stock.

Kenya Network of Cancer Organisations Chairperson David Makumi said cancer patients were being turned away, even after travelling several kilometers to KNH.

“Only patients attached to KNH and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital can access the drug for free. The rest who are in other hospitals are suffering. The drug is too expensive for them to afford and this is not fair,” he said

“It is a trend that the supply of the drug has been very poor, patients are suffering. Many miss their doses and risk disease progression,” he said

The ministry of Health (MoH) is said to have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with a Swiss pharmaceutical firm, Roche, in 2016 to supply the drug to KNH for free.

Last year, the MoH signed a co-funding MoU with the firm, where it agreed to foot 50 per cent of the cost and Roche the other half, but the ministry has reportedly failed to honour its end of the bargain, leading to inconsistencies in its supply.