This archive report was first published on 20 October 2019.
Published on October 20, 2019, by AMAAN KHALFAN, CEO of Goodlife Pharmacy, a branded chain operating in Kenya and Uganda.
Food, education, and healthcare are top priorities for many low-middle income households struggling with increasing daily expenses.
While basic nutrition needs are essential, expanding access to quality and affordable healthcare is gaining momentum as a key strategy to eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity.
Kenya's healthcare sector is growing rapidly, with the implementation of Universal Healthcare (UHC) as a national health priority gaining traction.
Currently, universal health coverage is being piloted in four counties, with primary healthcare serving as the primary means of delivering mass access.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), primary healthcare is people-centred, focusing on health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care throughout a person's life cycle.
Low to middle-income Kenyans often rely on health service points in their neighbourhoods, while those in urban areas use nearby pharmacies for convenience and efficiency.
Pharmacies play a critical role in emerging consumers' lives, particularly in preventing them from falling back into poverty due to illness.
Kenya's pharmaceutical market is one of the fastest-growing sectors in sub-Saharan Africa, with over 15,000 private pharmacies, but nearly 66% are unlicensed or unregulated.
Non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, contribute to a growing trend of deaths in Kenya, with industry estimates attributing about 27% of deaths.
Pharmacies have a fundamental role to play in increasing accessibility and reducing the cost burden of basic primary healthcare services, particularly in addressing the high incidence of chronic diseases.
Working with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) to streamline the registration and monitoring of pharmacists in Kenya can help eradicate quack entrepreneurs and ensure the quality of medicines.
However, an estimated 20-25% of drugs sold in the country are counterfeit, posing a significant risk to public health.
High-quality medicines remain expensive in Kenya due to the highly-fragmented pharmaceutical distribution systems, with intermediaries marking up prices, making even the lowest-priced generic medicines two-five times higher than their international reference points.
Partnering with the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to include private outpatient pharmacies in their coverage can force pharmacies to build healthcare services into their business models, ensuring partnerships with healthcare providers and relevant services.
Integrating reputable lab services into pharmacies can address the emerging problem of unlicensed labs within pharmacies, leading to misdiagnosis.
By tapping into the benefits of technology, pharmacies can venture into e-health technology, benefiting consumers and spreading their footprints across the country and into community neighbourhoods.
