According to Narok Senator, Ledama ole Kina, it takes over 600 days for medical orders to reach Kwale County after requisition from the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).

It might seem a ‘normal’ thing to us who are used to slothful services from some government agencies.

But it surely shows how much we devalue human life.

How so? You ask…

Well how much damage would 600 days do to a person gripped with a disabling illness?

Remember that these are medical supplies destined for Kwale County.

So what about those destined for Turkana, Marsabit or West Pokot?

You see, terminal illness waits for no man (or woman).

Severe disease doesn’t take leave because medical supplies are ‘on their way’.

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I think about that woman who’s just received a disabling diagnosis…

That lady in Msambweni, Kwale County who has just received news about that cancer which is now metastasizing away from her left breast.

She is supposed to receive ten sessions of chemo at the level five hospital in the county but keeps on being told that the meds have not yet arrived.

She is a peasant farmer with no other source of income other than some coconuts she harvests every so often.

She has no means to get to Nairobi.

The bus fare is too much.

The meagre resources she’s collected from family, friends and well wishers can only afford her the first 3 chemo sessions.

But still, she keeps on being turned down at the hospital.

KEMSA hasn’t yet supplied the drugs.

The earliest they are expected is in the next 6 months.

She knows what awaits her.

The doctor’s report was clear enough that the tumor has started spreading.

6 months will be a bit too late.

But she must keep on waiting.

That wait is a painful one.

She will not live to feel those drugs move through her veins.

Soon enough, relatives and friends will gather for her burial rites.

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You see, this is the situation that we are in.

Healthcare is no longer a priority.

Instead, people’s pockets are.

Stories are told of county governments that have made phantom orders of medical equipment.

They promise their people dialysis machines, CT scans, MRI devices yet these are just empty words.

And if delivered, they have not trained staff to run them.

Some even promise patients quality drugs only for them to be stolen and used to restock private pharmacies.

But this is not just a ‘county government’ issue.

Winning tenders is good if it’s meant to deliver value.

But more often than not tender and supply discussions are punctuated by a desire to make the most out of the least…

We seek to milk public coffers dry while delivering a raw deal to patients who are desperately clinging to dear life as they await elusive medical supplies.

The more connected among us walk into the corridors of KEMSA and other government agencies only to leave with millions in their hands but at whose expense?

You see, Christ said that…for what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul (Mark 8:36)

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Meanwhile our lady from Msambweni, Kwale has been laid to rest.

She has taken an early bow which could be prevented only if slothful government officials cast away their greed and did their work with the urgency required.

Senator Ledama ole Kina is a lone voice in the wilderness…crying on behalf of the forgotten and those thrown under the bus.

Perhaps it’s time we take healthcare seriously.

Perhaps it’s time all of us has a reality check.

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