Guide public on pharmacies by ending rogue ones

Kenya won the right to host the next World Athletics Championships in 2029. About time too as there was no better country in Africa to have such an honour than the ‘Home of Champions’. 

Kenya’s winning bid was met with aplomb especially in Africa, but it drew jitters in some European countries, with the opposition largely based on the fact that some Kenyan athletes have tested positive for banned substances and that should have watered down her chance of succeeding as the next host. 

The Kenyan athletes who tested positive for banned substances and excluded for years have indeed brought the integrity of Kenya hosting the championship into question. However, doping is rife in many countries not just in Kenya.  Mexico and Russia were other countries that fell afoul of World Athletics and WADA due to their lacklustre testing regimes at the same time Kenya was put under pressure to clean up her house and indeed her athletes. 

Kenya has still got a long way to go in proving to the world that her athletes run clean and that ADAK (Anti-Drug Agency of Kenya) is firm and well equipped to deal with the problem now, and in future. It must do all she can to lead the world in making the sport clean. Kenya owes it to her athletes and the world that gave her such a great honour. She owes it to her future sports men and women too.

There have been several documentaries made over the years alleging the use of banned substances by Kenyan athletes. These have happened not far from the ‘Home of Champions’. At the centre of the scandal has been the rogue pharmacy or two where the athletes go to have the substances injected or ingested depending on what is on offer and goals being pursued. EPO (Erythropoietin) drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells which in turn produces more haemoglobin, and leads to higher oxygen supply that helps athletes sustain their performance and endurance, has been the favourite of most athletes. This was one of the drugs that was allegedly supplied in some of the rogue pharmacies in Kenya.

While Kenya was ebullient on her choice as the next host of World Athletics Championship, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health was on the news castigating Kenyans on rogue pharmacies. She was of the view that the responsibility of sifting wheat from the chaff when it comes to pharmacies lies with the public.  Kenyans did scratch their heads on this. Social media went abuzz as Kenyans wondered whether the PS knew her responsibilities. I was thinking that perhaps the idea of sharing jobs between tribes and party members is what is detrimental to Kenya. 

I don’t know how the PS qualified for the job, however, it doesn’t take a pharmacist, doctor or indeed a member of the public to know that the responsibility of making sure that only bona fide pharmacies administer medication to the public lies with Ministry of Health.  The officials tasked with licensing pharmacies owe it to Kenyans to ensure that no rogue pharmacist is allowed to run a pharmacy. The public is not qualified or mandated to license pharmacies or understand which one is rogue and which one is not.  To put the onus on the public to avoid rogue pharmacies says a lot about the calibre of officials holding serious dockets and perhaps not even having a clue on what it entails to be that official.

The implication of rogue pharmacies in doping of Kenyan athletes should have engendered a stronger oversight of the sector.  The acknowledgement of the existence of rogue pharmacies by the Ministry of Health is troubling to say the least.  To put the responsibility of sorting out the bad from the good pharmacy on the public is troubling twice over.  Simply speaking, there should not be a rogue pharmacy in any country that takes the health of the nation seriously. This is an indictment on the relevant officials and departments such as Pharmacy and Poisons Board. 

Kenya has only recently been flagged for being complicit in supply and sell of counterfeit goods.  Counterfeit medication is dangerous to human health like all other counterfeit and unregulated food items in the country.  Allowing rogue pharmacies same playing field as honest pharmacies is detrimental to public health.

Hence, please don’t ask the public to avoid rogue pharmacies.  They should not have to be put in this position. The responsibility to sort out such a mess lies with the officials who are meant to license pharmacies.  Existence of rogue pharmacies is corruption affecting the sector like many others.  It is therefore important to put confidence in the public by ending the rogue pharmacies by tightening licensing rules and improving regulation of pharmacies. There are lives at stake here. I don’t want to go to a pharmacy in Kenya and asked again if I want original or fake medication. To protect public safety, rogue pharmacies should be eradicated. It is that simple!