84 illegal pharmacies shut in a Nyanza region crackdown

Kisumu, 24 September, 2021– A crackdown on illegal pharmacies in Nyanza region that commenced on 20th September, 2021 has closed a total of 84 illegal outlets and seized 137 cartons of assorted medicines. So far, 80 people have been arrested & arraigned in court & charged with various offenses.

The operation which was led by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) Deputy Director of Inspectorate and Enforcement, Dr. Dominic Kariuki covered the counties of Kisumu, Nyamira, Kisii, Homabay, Migori and Siaya and targeted pharmacy outlets that were found to have flouted regulations.

Speaking in Kisumu, Dr. Kariuki issued a stern warning to absentee superintendents who leave pharmacy outlets in the hands of unqualified persons hence putting the lives of Kenyans in danger. The professionals who have been found engaging in these malpractices have been summoned for disciplinary action, he said.

He also directed all pharmacy outlets with expired drugs to safely quarantine them and get in touch with PPB regional inspectors for safe disposal

“PPB has distributed minilabs to its regional offices for random sampling and testing of medicines in the market to ensure that medicines in the Kenyan market are of good quality, safe and efficacious” he noted.

PPB has also trained health workers and stakeholders to identify and report poor quality medicines using the PPB poor quality medicines reporting tools.