Viagra, HIV test kits among counterfeit medical products flooding Kenyan market

HIV home test kits [Courtesy]

Counterfeit viagra, HIV rapid diagnostic test kits, and dialysis meds are among the falsified medical products circulating in Kenya.

This is raising concerns over patient safety.

The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) says the fake products have been detected through enhanced market surveillance.

Speaking during the launch of the Kenya National Action Plan on Substandard and Falsified Medical Products, PPB Director of Product Safety Dr Edward Abwao has warned that counterfeit viagra, commonly known as the blue pill, is one of the products increasingly finding its way into the Kenyan market.

The official has also raised concerns over fake HIV rapid diagnostic test kits and counterfeit anticoagulants used during dialysis.

Dr Abwao cited an ongoing case in court, where a dialysis patient was nearly harmed after being administered a falsified blood thinner.

This happened in Kilifi County.

A nurse is reported to have noticed the patient's blood was clotting abnormally during the procedure. She immediately stopped the treatment and switched to an alternative medicine, averting death. 

Data from the PPB shows that between 2021 and 2025, the regulator received 1,413 product quality complaints, resulting in the recall of 99 medical products.

It also recorded 32,833 reports of adverse drug reactions between 2011 and 2025

Additionally, 18 alerts were issued on suspected falsified medicines from 2020 to 2026.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the government has stepped up efforts to rid the market of substandard and counterfeit medical products.

Over the past year alone, he said, PPB recalled 58 substandard products and issued 14 public alerts on falsified medicines.

Duale said the regulator had also removed 2,258 non-compliant legacy products from the medicines register following the rollout of mandatory registration.

"If bad fuel gets into your vehicle, you lose the engine. But if a bad medicine gets to a patient, they lose their life," said Duale.

The CS warned that the manufacture, distribution, and sale of counterfeit medicines is a criminal offence that will not be tolerated.

CoG representative Muthomi Njuki said it is worrying that patients are victims of falsified medical products.

"Expired medicine still being dispensed to patients, that is more harmful," Muthomi.

"Most of the human lives lost is because nit they did not have medicine or money, but simply because the system failed them. I am shocked to learn we've fake HIV test kits in the market," he added.

Additionally, the governor raised concerns over the circulation of fake P2 in the market.

"This (p2 circulation) means we've our girls getting unwanted pregnancies because the system has failed them," he said.

According to the World Health Organisation, one in every 10 medical products in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified, posing a major threat to public health and undermining confidence in healthcare systems.