KAPI assures President Kenyatta on NCD drugs

The Kenya Association of Pharmaceutical Industry (KAPI) has expressed its commitment to continue facilitating a progressive reduction in the cost of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) medicines locally.

In a swift response to a public call by President Uhuru Kenyatta to international pharmaceutical firms, to reduce the cost of NCD medicines, KAPI, has confirmed ongoing efforts to affordably deliver essential medicines in Kenya. The efforts, are rolling out under a stakeholder initiative dubbed: Access Accelerated.

Alongside the initiative, the Association, comprising of leading international and local pharmaceutical firms, is also collaborating with the Ministry of Health to address non-tariff barriers affecting the pricing of medicines in the local market.

KAPI Chairperson Dr Anastasia Nyalita said the Association’s members have been undertaking public awareness programmes geared at educating Kenyans to exercise healthy living and preventive strategies as the most cost-effective measures against disease; especially lifestyle NCDs.

Speaking from New York, when he addressed a plenary session on the prevention and control of NCDs at the ongoing 73rd session on United Nations General Assembly in New York, last Thursday, President Kenyatta said access to essential medicines and technologies is key  for effective management of NCDs.

“I call on non-state actors including the pharmaceutical industries and private health service providers to partner with governments to bring down costs of treatment through fair pricing and ethical practices,” said President Kenyatta.

The President said Kenya aims to guarantee access to quality NCD care through an integrated  primary health care approach  that emphasizes preventive and promotive  health intervention  that encourages the adoption of healthy lifestyles.

Additionally, said the Head of State, the government has committed itself to investing in additional and sustainable domestic financing to halt and reverse the burden of NCDs.

“To this end, we are embracing strategic partnerships and harnessing innovations from the private sector and other non-state actors in the entire continuum of NCDs,” he said

According to KAPI Chairperson, Dr Anastasia Nyalita, the Association is playing a leading role in the local rollout of the global Access Accelerated initiative. Access Accelerated is a first-of-its-kind, multi-stakeholder collaboration focused on improving NCD care.

“KAPI, is working closely with the Ministry of Health among other stakeholders to address causative factors to the local cost of essential medicine and other pharmaceutical products, Dr Nyalita said. She added that, “Channel inefficiencies and excessive markup charges which contribute immensely to the unsustainable cost of medicine are currently under review.”

Launched at last year’s World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, Access Accelerated is an initiative spearheaded by twenty-two leading biopharmaceutical companies that have joined hands to advance the access to non-communicable (NCD) prevention and care agenda in low and lower-middle income countries including Kenya.

The ‘Access Accelerated’ programme, Nyalita said is already providing much needed impetus to facilitate sustainable NCD management.

Access Accelerated companies operating in Kenya include: Bayer, Bristol-Myers Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche and Sanofi, among others.

“At KAPI, we wish to confirm our member companies’ commitment to affordably deliver NCD medicines in Kenya as and we look forward to partnering with the government as we seek to foster a conducive environment to ensure that we reduce mortality incidents associated with NCD diseases,” Nyalita said and added: