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You will soon be able to use your phone to establish whether you are using counterfeit or genuine medicines.
The Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board yesterday announced that medicines being imported or manufactured locally must have a code to act as a unique identifier to be used to verify their quality.
The board's CEO, Fred Moin, said a short message code system to be used to identify the quality of drugs was in the trial stage and was expected to be implemented by mid this year.
“Patients will be able to tell if a drug, for instance paracetamol, is genuine, its side effects, where it was dispensed and whether it is registered using the unique identifier,” stated Dr Moin, adding that this was aimed at ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of medicine.
He was speaking during a three-day workshop on combating counterfeit drugs organised by the Conference of Western Attorneys General Africa Alliance Partnership (CWAG AAP) and the Poisons board.
Markus Green, a CWAG AAP board member, noted that according to a report by the World Health Organisation, 25 per cent of drugs in developing countries were either counterfeits or sub-standard.
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