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The board keeps the Register of Pharmacists and the Roll of Pharmaceutical Technologists in Kenya.
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Pharmaceuticals must be distributed by highly qualified personnel through outlets that are duly licensed and professionally run.
Image: FILE
The government has published a list of registered pharmacies, and chemists after drug licensing review.
The list by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board showed the total number of pharmacies and chemists registered so far stands at 5,245.
The board’s mission is to ensure the availability of pharmaceutical services in Kenya which satisfy the needs of all for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases using safe, efficacious, high quality and cost-effective pharmaceutical products.
The board keeps the Register of Pharmacists and the Roll of Pharmaceutical Technologists in Kenya.
Pharmaceuticals must be distributed by highly qualified personnel through outlets that are duly licensed and professionally run.
The operations in these premises are supervised by qualified personnel to avoid the risk of exposing the public to unsafe medicines.
Pursuant to the Pharmacy and Poisons Act, a person cannot carry on a pharmacy business in Kenya unless the premises have current approval and all the holders of the financial interest in the pharmacy business are registered as pharmacists or enrolled as pharmaceutical technologists.
These guidelines are intended to guide dealers in pharmaceuticals and the public on registration of premises and licensing of pharmaceutical business for purposes of manufacturing, storage and sale of medical products and pharmacy practice.
It aims to highlight the minimum requirements for licensing and also guide through the licensure and registration process, how to apply for a pharmacy registration and the types of licenses.
The guidelines are also intended to address challenges in the current practice environment, enhance the implementation of current legislation, align licensing requirements with other PPB guidelines and respond to changes in technology.
The guidelines are revised from time to time as policies are developed or amended to incorporate up-to-date practices.
The board has repeatedly warned wholesalers against selling medicines to unregistered and unlicensed pharmacies.
The PPB had also raised concern that some of the pharmacies issued with closure notices during the last inspection have defied the order to close down.
The board has been stepping up the fight against substandard, falsely labelled and falsified drugs to protect consumers from the dangers posed.
In December 2022, 81 illegal pharmacies were shut down in Nairobi and the Lower Eastern region.
The crackdown has led to the arrest of 77 people; 58 in the Lower Eastern region and 19 in Nairobi in a war against unregistered pharmacy outlets.