NAIROBI, Kenya – The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) has launched a sweeping audit initiative targeting pharmaceutical wholesalers and Level 4 hospitals nationwide to enforce strict compliance standards in the handling and distribution of medicines.
This rigorous campaign, which began with inspections of pharmaceutical wholesalers on October 13, and extended to Level 4 hospitals on October 20, aims to bolster patient safety and uphold stringent pharmaceutical practices across the healthcare sector.
Julius Kaluai, PPB’s Head of Good Distribution Practices, emphasized during a briefing in Nakuru that the audits are strategically focused on critical compliance areas to curb medication errors, prevent drug misuse, and ensure adherence to proper pharmaceutical protocols.
Speaking on behalf of PPB CEO Fred Siyoi, Kaluai underscored the significance of employing qualified, PPB-registered personnel in pharmacy facilities to uphold these standards, stressing the importance of correct storage for temperature-sensitive medications and compliant pharmaceutical waste disposal according to both PPB and National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) guidelines.
“This initiative underscores PPB’s unwavering commitment to advancing safe, effective, and high-quality healthcare standards across Kenya,” Kaluai said, reiterating the Board’s mission to enforce compliance and safeguard the public against risks posed by substandard practices in the pharmaceutical sector.
Beyond standard compliance checks, the audits also scrutinize unauthorized relocations of wholesalers, theft of government-supplied drugs, and sales conducted without licensing—practices that the PPB deems as serious threats to Kenya’s healthcare integrity.
Auditors are focusing on legal certifications, quality of the batching process, documentation of product deviations, client complaint management, corrective actions taken for past infractions, and rates of product returns.
The compliance campaign follows the recent launch of Kenya’s first national antimicrobial consumption monitoring plan, introduced by the PPB to track the usage of critical drugs like antibiotics and antifungals.
This initiative, driven by rising concerns over drug resistance, aims to curb the unchecked spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across the country.
“Without a robust tracking system, we are at risk of reversing decades of medical progress, leaving us vulnerable to infections that were once easily treatable,” CEO Siyoi warned during the launch of the antimicrobial tracking plan.
This rigorous campaign, which began with inspections of pharmaceutical wholesalers on October 13, and extended to Level 4 hospitals on October 20, aims to bolster patient safety and uphold stringent pharmaceutical practices across the healthcare sector.
Julius Kaluai, PPB’s Head of Good Distribution Practices, emphasized during a briefing in Nakuru that the audits are strategically focused on critical compliance areas to curb medication errors, prevent drug misuse, and ensure adherence to proper pharmaceutical protocols.
Speaking on behalf of PPB CEO Fred Siyoi, Kaluai underscored the significance of employing qualified, PPB-registered personnel in pharmacy facilities to uphold these standards, stressing the importance of correct storage for temperature-sensitive medications and compliant pharmaceutical waste disposal according to both PPB and National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) guidelines.
“This initiative underscores PPB’s unwavering commitment to advancing safe, effective, and high-quality healthcare standards across Kenya,” Kaluai said, reiterating the Board’s mission to enforce compliance and safeguard the public against risks posed by substandard practices in the pharmaceutical sector.
Beyond standard compliance checks, the audits also scrutinize unauthorized relocations of wholesalers, theft of government-supplied drugs, and sales conducted without licensing—practices that the PPB deems as serious threats to Kenya’s healthcare integrity.
Auditors are focusing on legal certifications, quality of the batching process, documentation of product deviations, client complaint management, corrective actions taken for past infractions, and rates of product returns.
The compliance campaign follows the recent launch of Kenya’s first national antimicrobial consumption monitoring plan, introduced by the PPB to track the usage of critical drugs like antibiotics and antifungals.
This initiative, driven by rising concerns over drug resistance, aims to curb the unchecked spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across the country.
“Without a robust tracking system, we are at risk of reversing decades of medical progress, leaving us vulnerable to infections that were once easily treatable,” CEO Siyoi warned during the launch of the antimicrobial tracking plan.
