By Joseph Kabia
The Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Rashid Aman has asked pharmacists in Kenya to reclaim the lost glory of their profession. While addressing the 38th annual scientific conference convened by the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK), in Mombasa June this year, he said to achieve best practice in Universal Health Care (UHC), pharmaceutical care should be embraced by all Pharmacists.
The Pharmacy profession is currently under threat from a high influx of quacks running at the rate of 60 per cent in the medicine chain in the country, an aspect that has exposed patients to the deleterious effects of medical products.
Dr. Aman noted the potential contribution that the sector can make in the attainment of the Universal Health Care (UHC) in Kenya, with pharmaceutical care and products contributing to 40 per cent of all in patient care cost and 70 per cent of outpatient care and costs. He said that Kenya is on track with the Pharmaceutical Sector Development Strategy, a support for local pharmaceutical manufactures to comply with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), through the Kenya GMP roadmap initiative, which is currently having 35 fully operational pharmaceutical manufactures.
The initiatives are bound to open up new pharmaceutical market in the region like the East Africa Community (EAC) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA). Currently, there are six new pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities coming up that will make Kenya the hub for pharmaceuticals in the region.
The value of the pharmaceutical market in Kenya 2017 stood at US$ 890 million with only 20 per cent (US$ 180 million) being the contribution of the locally manufactured medical products. “For us to have a vibrant pharmaceutical industry that produces products that are of high quality medicines, we need a stringent regulatory framework in place.
The mandate of the pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) is being hampered by weak legislation and unnecessary litigations which lead to operational challenges,” he said. The ministry has forwarded a proposal to Parliament seeking to make PPB an autonomous entity from the Ministry of Health, clear delineation of the regulatory mandate and elimination of conflicting responsibilities with other government agencies.
