By Mandere Onyinkwa

The Ministry of Health has urged Kenyans to exercise greater caution when purchasing medicines, warning the public against buying drugs from unlicensed chemists and other unauthorised outlets.

Public Health and Professional Standards Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni said Tuesday that medicines should only be purchased from licensed and regulated entities as the government intensifies efforts to curb the circulation of falsified products.

Speaking during a high-level roundtable and strategic deliberations with the Kenya Healthcare Federation (KHF), Muthoni called for stronger collaboration between the government and private healthcare sector to tackle the growing threat.

“We must work together as a whole of government and society to deal with this vice,” she said, while urging stakeholders to prioritise patient safety over commercial interests.

The Kenya Healthcare Federation brings together players in the private health sector and works with the government on policies, standards and regulations aimed at improving healthcare delivery.

Muthoni said the government had tightened surveillance of unscrupulous pharmacists and other traders who put profits ahead of quality healthcare.

As part of the crackdown, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board and the Digital Health Authority, launched a track-and-trace system in August to monitor medicines from manufacturers to their final destinations.

The system is intended to improve traceability and help authorities identify products that enter the market through unauthorised channels.

Since January 2025, 67 products have been recalled from the market, with some individuals accused of selling falsified medicines prosecuted where necessary.

KHF pledged to strengthen cooperation with the government, describing the sale of falsified medicines as “medical terrorism”.

The federation said it would support government enforcement efforts, report suspected cases and establish a tribunal within the private health sector to take firm action against members involved in the illegal trade.

The meeting also called for enhanced surveillance along Kenya’s borders to prevent falsified and unregulated medicines from neighbouring countries entering the Kenyan market, while also addressing the movement of such products in the opposite direction.

The government has consequently urged members of the public to verify that pharmacies and other medicine outlets are licensed before making purchases and to report suspected cases of counterfeit or falsified medicines to the relevant authorities.