MOMBASA, Kenya – Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir has dismissed claims by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale that public health facilities in the county are grappling with acute medicine shortages, insisting that county-run hospitals and health centres are currently recording a 92 per cent prescription fill rate.
Speaking during the commissioning of the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital Frontage Redevelopment Project, Nassir said the statistics recently cited by the Health Ministry had been misinterpreted because they combined data from both public and private health facilities operating within Mombasa County.
According to the Governor, the data referenced by CS Duale covered 239 health facilities across the county, yet only 52 of those are managed by the County Government of Mombasa.
“Out of the 239 facilities being referred to, only 52 are County Government facilities. Our prescription fill rate in those facilities stands at 92 per cent,” Nassir said.
He argued that using county-wide aggregated figures to assess the performance of devolved public health facilities paints an inaccurate picture of service delivery and unfairly attributes challenges experienced in private or non-county facilities to the county government.
Nassir said his administration remains accountable for the performance of facilities under its management but emphasized that public discourse should be guided by accurate, disaggregated data.
The Governor said the county has continued investing in the procurement of essential medicines, expansion of healthcare infrastructure and improvement of service delivery, noting that the reported prescription fill rate reflects the availability of medicines prescribed to patients in county-run health facilities.
His remarks came amid an emerging public exchange between the national and county governments over the state of healthcare services in Mombasa.
The debate was sparked after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale questioned the availability of medicines in health facilities across the county, citing Ministry of Health data that indicated a low prescription fill rate and suggesting that many patients were still being forced to purchase medicines from private pharmacies after seeking treatment in public facilities.
Duale argued that public hospitals should consistently stock essential medicines to spare patients the financial burden of buying drugs elsewhere, saying improved medicine availability remains central to the implementation of Universal Health Coverage and ongoing health sector reforms.
However, Nassir maintained that the ministry’s figures did not distinguish between county-owned facilities and privately operated hospitals and clinics, making it misleading to use the overall statistics as a measure of the County Government’s performance.
He reiterated that his administration welcomes scrutiny and accountability but said such assessments must fairly reflect the institutions under the county’s mandate.
The Governor spoke while commissioning the redeveloped frontage of Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, a project implemented through a partnership between the County Government of Mombasa, Jaffer Foundation and Bulkstream Ltd.
He said the facelift forms part of the county’s broader efforts to modernise healthcare infrastructure, improve patient experience and create a more dignified environment for patients and healthcare workers.
Nassir added that his administration will continue partnering with the private sector and development partners to strengthen healthcare services while ensuring that residents have reliable access to quality treatment in county health facilities.
