This archive report was first published on 2 January 2020.
January 2, 2020, marked a devastating day for Kenya's HIV/AIDS patients as a consignment of Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs worth over Ksh. 3.5 billion was redirected to West Africa.
The drugs, donated by the United States government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), had landed in the port of Mombasa in October 2019. The shipment, valued at USD35 million, was intended to benefit at least 900,000 Kenyans living with HIV/AIDS.
However, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) imposed taxes on the drugs, citing that they were subject to customs duty. The US embassy refused to pay the taxes, arguing that the drugs were a donation and therefore exempt from taxation.
As a result, the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), a state corporation under the Ministry of Health, was unable to clear the drugs for distribution. The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) also refused to offload the cargo, forcing the shipping company to return to the US for further instructions.
Ultimately, the US government decided to donate the ARV drugs to another country in West Africa, leaving hundreds of thousands of Kenyans without access to free medication.
Kenya has the joint third-largest HIV epidemic in the world, with 1.6 million people living with HIV in 2018. Despite efforts to increase treatment coverage, 69 percent of adults living with HIV in Kenya were accessing treatment as of 2018, while treatment coverage among children aged under 15 was lower, at 61 percent.
