The Pharmacy and Poisons Board will deploy small labs at lower levels to screen and assure the quality of medical products in the market.
Board chairman Jackson Kioko on Thursday said improving the availability of medicine authorised is a key priority of the board.
He spoke when he and board's CEO Fred Siyoi met Mombasa Health executive Hazel Koitaba and medical products and technologies distributors.
The aim of the meetings was to develop and coordinate actions for better inspection, enforcement and management of communication on issues that can affect availability of quality medical products.
This was to ensure only legal outlets operate within the area.
He said the drive will continue through the Nyumba Kumi initiative to ensure unlicensed businesses are closed.
“The safety of Kenyans is paramount and the board shall continue to work closely with the county health department to ensure unlicensed pharmacy outlets are closed,” Kioko said.
“We are also developing good distribution practice guidelines that will define the set up of pharmacies in terms of size, structure and distance between each other.”
The guidelines will also address the challenges of mushrooming of pharmacies around hospitals.
Koitaba said the mushrooming of pharmacies and clinics around hospitals is hurting services in public health facilities.
She said there is need to ensure pharmaceutical outlets are manned by professionals and the products are of good quality and cost effective.
The board has inspected 3,383 pharmacies countrywide and closed more than 700 in one year.
