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Pharmacists have vowed to pursue tougher penalties against individuals engaged in the supply and sale of sub-standard medicine.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK) says the industry, with a Sh300 billion annual turnover, requires stringent regulation to stem infiltration by quacks.
Yesterday, PSK President Paul Mwaniki called for stakeholders’ support, saying the society’s focus would turn to working with Parliament and relevant agencies to review regulatory laws.
He said in an attempt to enhance quality, they would brand all accredited chemists for ease of identification by consumers.
“We are branding all pharmacy outlets where pharmacists operate with a green cross so the public can easily identify the genuine ones and get high quality services,” he said.
Dr Mwaniki, who was last week re-elected to chair PSK for another three years, said they would lobby the Government to support local pharmaceutical manufacturing to increase employment and encourage technology transfer in the wake of diseases such as Ebola and the increase in cases of non-communicable disease like diabetes and cancer.
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“We will ensure PSK puts up a local pharmaceutical company compliant with World Health Organisation standards to leverage on the opportunities in the international pharmaceutical market,” he said, adding they would also set up a pharmaceutical distribution company and a pharmacy training institution for various areas of consultancy.
In a statement, Mwaniki said in his second term at the helm of PSK, he would focus on expanding the society’s holdings.
PSK held elections on October 1 which Mwaniki won with more than 75 per cent of the votes.
He said he would be lobbying to have the Pharmacy and Poisons Board transformed into an autonomous entity besides creating a directorate of pharmaceutical services as envisioned in the Kenya National Pharmaceutical Policy.
“We will continuously advise county governments, which have lately been grappling with delayed payments, procurement challenges and capacity setbacks in the health sector,” he said.
He added that growth in the health sector required policy support to help deliver Vision 2030.
Mwaniki said PSK would work with the Health ministry, and private and public sectors to ensure that pharmacists protect lives by upholding professionalism.
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