President William Ruto has announced a new agreement between the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) and Pfizer that is expected to substantially reduce the cost of selected cancer medicines in Kenya. Ruto made the announcement on Monday, August 31, after meeting Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla at State House, Nairobi. Under the agreement, signed through Pfizer’s Accord for a Healthier World initiative, some cancer medicines that previously cost as much as KSh1 million per treatment cycle are expected to cost less than KSh50,000. The reported reduction represents more than 95 per cent in the cases cited by the President. Ruto said the broader price reductions for medicines covered by the agreement amount to more than seven times.
“Today, Kenya has made a major breakthrough in the treatment of several cancers following the signing of a consequential agreement with Pfizer,” the President said.
According to President William Ruto, the agreement covers medicines used to treat breast, stomach, colon, lung, prostate and oesophageal cancers, as well as leukaemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. He said the lower prices would strengthen access to the medicines and make the government’s cancer coverage under the Social Health Authority (SHA) more adequate.
Ruto said the KSh800,000 SHA cancer package would be sufficient to cover treatment under the agreement without patients having to make additional payments. This is a claim by the President and relates to the treatments covered by the arrangement. The government has not, however, published a detailed list in the announcement showing the previous and new prices of every medicine covered by the deal.
The agreement is also expected to improve Kenya’s access to newer cancer medicines.
Ruto said Kenyan patients have previously faced waits of up to 10 years before some newer cancer therapies become available in the country. He said the Pfizer arrangement would allow Kenya to access newer medicines without that waiting period. The President also linked the partnership to Kenya’s plans to expand pharmaceutical manufacturing in Africa, saying Pfizer would make technologies and newer medicines available for local production on the continent.
The arrangement is between Pfizer and KEMSA and falls under the pharmaceutical company’s Accord for a Healthier World programme. Pfizer and Kenya launched the programme in June 2025, with KEMSA designated to procure Pfizer medicines and vaccines for use in Kenya’s public health system at not-for-profit prices. The programme covers Pfizer products for which the company has global rights, including current and future medicines and vaccines. The latest announcement specifically highlights cancer medicines and the reductions reported by the President. However, the deal should not be interpreted as meaning that all cancer treatment in Kenya will cost less than KSh50,000. The figure applies to some medicines and treatment cycles cited by President William Ruto, while the agreement covers selected products for the nine cancer categories listed.
For now, the government has confirmed the KEMSA-Pfizer agreement, with Ruto reporting major price reductions for selected cancer medicines and improved access to newer treatments. The announcement comes as Kenya seeks to expand access to cancer care while using the SHA system to finance treatment for eligible patients.