Audit Uncovers Shocking Drug Thefts in Counties: Auditor-General Calls for Urgent Shift to Digital Tracking

Nairobi, Kenya – A new report by the Office of the Auditor-General has revealed widespread theft and mismanagement of medical supplies in county health facilities—attributed largely to outdated, paper-based inventory systems. Medicines worth hundreds of millions of shillings have gone missing, vanishing from public stores with little to no trace.

The audit, which reviewed health departments across several counties, paints a troubling picture: drugs are either unaccounted for, expire unnoticed, or are siphoned off due to weak internal controls. In most of the affected facilities, manual stocktaking and handwritten ledger books remain the standard—leaving glaring loopholes for theft, errors, and corruption.

“The lack of real-time tracking and accountability mechanisms has created fertile ground for loss and abuse,” the report states. “In many instances, discrepancies between stock received and stock issued could not be explained or verified.”

The Auditor-General is now urging county governments to transition to digital inventory systems—complete with barcode scanning, centralized tracking, and audit trails—to prevent further loss and improve transparency in drug management.

This revelation comes at a time when patients across the country are frequently turned away from hospitals due to drug shortages, forcing many to buy essential medications from private chemists—often at prohibitive costs.

Health experts warn that beyond financial loss, the continued failure to safeguard public medical supplies could further undermine trust in Kenya’s devolved healthcare system.

Call for Action

The Auditor-General’s office has recommended immediate adoption of digital pharmaceutical management tools such as the Health Commodities Management Platform (HCMP), already piloted in a few counties with promising results. However, implementation remains patchy due to budget constraints, resistance to change, and limited ICT infrastructure in some rural areas.

If counties fail to act, Kenya risks not just financial leakage—but a public health crisis that could worsen inequities in access to care.