The Commission on Administrative Justice popularly known as the Office of the Ombudsman now wants the Ministry of Health to clear the air over widely-circulated reports to the effect that the country is staring at a huge shortage of Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).
The Florence Kajuju-led body has specifically given the ministry seven days to furnish the commission with a status report on the progress made towards the release of the ARV drugs that are stuck at the port awaiting clearance.
“This is information in the public interest and should also be disclosed to the public proactively as per the requirements of the Access to Information Act,” Kajuju said in a letter to Health CS Mutahi Kagwe Tuesday afternoon.
In the letter, the Ombudsman chairperson also demanded to know the status of rapid test kits and the delay in dispensing the same to people living with HIV and AIDS.
“This has occasioned untold suffering and threatens the PLWHA’s right to life and highest attainable standard of health which includes right to healthcare services,” She noted
The demand by the ombudsman comes just days after the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya expressed concern over a crisis caused by a diplomatic row pitting the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health, and Finance.
