By MN Reporter
Nearly seventy per cent of all pharmacies operating in Migori County are operating illegally, a study has revealed.
According the report of a study carried out by the Kenya Pharmaceutical Association, (KPA), only 128 of the 294 pharmacies within the county meet the minimum requirement to operate their businesses.
The report said in all the eight constituencies, only the 128 medical outlets are registered and have at least one qualified worker to give the drugs as required by the law.
“We are alarmed that most of these chemists do not have the necessary documents to operate,” Dr. John Were, an officer with KPA said when he released the report.
According to Were, most of the chemists only had local council licence while most of the staff did not have medical training, raising questions on the services they gave to the locals.
And following the revelation, Were said that his association had forwarded the names of the illegal pharmacies and physical addresses to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board for action to be taken against them.
“We cannot allow the lives of Kenyans to be out at risk by greedy people whose only aim is to make money,” he said adding that the board will then launch a crackdown on the shops soon with a view to closing them and arresting suspects running the outlets.
He further regretted unscrupulous traders were taking advantage of the lucrative pharmacy business and opting to maximize their profits by employing cheap untrained labour, something which could not be allowed to continue.
At the same time, Were said that KPA had vowed to do all they could to ensure that those operating the illegal pharmacies were done away with across the county.
The study was conducted by a team of ten medical experts ad took three weeks. It covered all small towns and markets within Rongo, Awendo, Uriri, Migori, Nyatike, Kuria West and Kuria East sub counties.
Ends