The Pharmacy and Poisons Board is working on a medicine tracking system to spot fakes, expired medicine and suspicious pharmacies.
It aims to ensure all medical products and health technologies in the market have a tracing number.
This will make it easy for the board to identify the country of origin, manufacturer, and the batch of medical products and technologies.
In case there emerges an issue with a specific batch, it will be easy to recall and hold those involved responsible.
The roll-out date has not been announced.
“The board uses GPS-based registration process for pharmacy premises and their location,” Pharmacy and Poisons Board CEO Fred Siyoi said on Tuesday.
“We have rolled out a health safety code 21031 that allows Kenyans to verify the registration status of premises and that of superintendents before purchasing medicine,” he told a media forum in Nairobi.
Kenyans have been urged to use the code to verify and report to the board any pharmacies they suspect are operating illegally.
Kenya is the sixth African country making individual case safety reports (ICSRs) to an international database and is leading in vigilance and post-marketing surveillance.
The CEO said online services has increased the transparency and traceability of documents, as well as accountabilty. This makes it easier to adhere to international standards.
“We are the first drug regulatory authority in Africa with online systems for the regulation of medical products in accordance with the WHO regulatory documentation package and other international guidelines and standards," Siyo said.
The PPB was established to regulate the profession of pharmacy and ensure quality, safety and efficacy of medical products.
Its mandate has expanded to include regulation of medical devices, health technologies, nutritional supplements, cosmetics, vaccines and blood and herbal products.
The new tracking system is being developed in partnership with the University of Nairobi and other stakeholders.
Edited by R.Wamochie