Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) Chairman Irungu Nyakera has responded to reports of Kenyans across the country receiving false HIV results.
In a statement, Nyakera said that the authority was only mandated to procure the test kits as directed by the Ministry of Health and not authorized set any policies.
Further, he noted that the supply authority had done its job to satisfaction with the specifications it had received from the Ministry.
“Worth noting is KEMSA is a procurement body and not the policy setting body.
“KEMSA’s only role has been to procure as per the ministry’s request and specifications and KEMSA has so far procured the new kits in strict fidelity to the procurement law, and nobody has raised any question towards that end,” he said.
Also Read: Govt Clarifies Reports of Substandard HIV Testing Kits
Kenyans Receiving False HIV Test Kits from KEMSA
Nyakera’s statement follows a court case which revealed that for the past 15 years, the Ministry of Health had been procuring HIV test kits against the advice of the World Health Organization (WHO).
As a result, there is a chance that 3 out of every 100 Kenyans who underwent testing were erroneously informed that they were HIV-negative, yet they lived with the virus.
Through lawyer Elias Mutuma, the complainants, Kathambi Ruciami and Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Company Limited, argued that the categorization of kits done early 2024, was wrong and put the lives of Kenyans at risk.
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that countries transition from a two-test algorithm to a three-test algorithm to improve the accuracy of HIV testing.
Additionally, WHO recommended that for a positive HIV diagnosis, the three consecutive tests should maintain a 99 per cent predictive value.
However, for the past 15 years, Kenya has continued using a two-test strategy which was flagged for depicting conflicting test results.
Moreover, WHO had recommended the use of dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnosis tests for pregnant women attending ante-natal care. Kenya adopted this strategy for pregnant women in 2018.
Also Read: WHO Lists Gay Men Among 5 Groups of People with High HIV Infection Rate
Ministry of Health on Fake HIV Tests
Earlier in May 28, the Principal Secretary for Medical Services Harry Kimtai said that the claims were untrue insisting that the ministry had adopted the three-test algorithm in HIV diagnosis as advised.
He also indicated that Kenya was among the first 10 countries transitioning from a two-test algorithm to a three-test algorithm for accurate HIV diagnosis.
“The Ministry of Health is deeply concerned about claims of poor quality of HIV testing services in the country. It is important that the gains made in the response to HIV are not rolled back due to misinformation,
“The WHO also supports member countries in global pharmacovigilance. There is no advisory on poor quality of HIV testing services in Kenya,” he said in a statement.
According to the MoH, Kenya has the 7th largest HIV epidemic in the world, with an estimated 1.4 million people living with HIV (PLHIV).
Follow our WhatsApp Channel for real-time news updates!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaB3k54HltYFiQ1f2i2C
