The country’s pharmacists are calling on national and county authorities to urgently enforce the deployment of qualified pharmaceutical personnel to Level 3 primary health facilities to assist in containing the surging cases of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs).
The call comes at a critical moment when national data is showing that NCDs account for an estimated 43 percent of deaths nationwide.
Under the umbrella of Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK), the pharmacists are arguing that Level 3 facilities—historically designed for basic outpatient care—have evolved into the frontline for managing complex, long-term conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and early-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Shift in Disease Profile Demands Professional Medicine Oversight
With over 3.1 million Kenyans living with chronic kidney disease, PSK President Dr. Wairimu Mbogo warned that the country cannot afford the skyrocketing financial burden of tertiary interventions like dialysis if primary healthcare fails to manage chronic conditions early.
“The patient with hypertension and diabetes does not simply need another month’s dose,” said Dr. Mbogo during a side event with journalists during a one-day workshop coinciding with the World Pharmacists Day 2026 in Nairobi on September 25, 2026.
The theme for this year’s World Pharmacists Day is “Empowering pharmacists for healthier futures.”.
According to Dr. Mbogo a number of questions emerge when one takes a picture of the emerging tasks at the Level 3 health facilities.
“Someone needs to ask: Are those medicines working? Is the patient taking them? Have doses missed due to side effects? Has renal function changed? Is an apparent treatment failure actually a medicine problem? The medicine must be followed all the way to the health outcome,” she posed.
PSK noted that Level 3 facilities are increasingly managing complex drug regimens, maternal health therapies, antimicrobial stewardship, and pharmacovigilance—requiring dedicated clinical review rather than basic pill dispensing.
Workforce Available, Deployment Impasse
Addressing claims that Kenya lacks sufficient pharmacists to cover primary care centers, PSK pointed to a structural bottleneck in public-sector absorption rather than a workforce deficit.
According to Dr. Mbogo, Kenya has roughly 6,000 registered pharmacists, with 9 pharmacy schools producing nearly 1,000 new graduates annually.
“However, the irony of all these is that only about 2,800 maintain active licenses, largely due to delayed recruitment and commercial concentration in major urban centers,” the PSK President noted, arguing that deployment at Level 3 is not a new policy mandate; it is already required under existing Ministry of Health Human Resources guidelines and the Good Pharmacy Practice (GPP) standards.
Subsequently, the pharmacists are emphasizing that placing members of the Society at Level 3 does not exclude or displace pharmaceutical technologists. Dr. Mbogo pointed out that this group of medics remain a critical part of the health workforce operating within their respective scopes of practice.
Crackdown on Illegal Outlets
Alongside the push to deploy pharmacists at Level 3 health facilities, PSK is urging county governments to take decisive action against illegal, unlicensed pharmacy premises, which distort the pharmaceutical market and compromise patient safety.
In view of this, the pharmacists want the 47 county governments to stop issuing Single Business Permits (SBPs) to pharmacy outlets that lack digital verification and approval from the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB).
“County revenue collection must never legitimize unlawful premises, as illegal outlets frequently rely on illicit supply chains for substandard or falsified medicines,” PSK leadership warned.
AI as an Assistant, Not a Replacement
And touching on emerging technology, PSK addressed the role of Artificial Intelligence in dispensing and therapy tracking.
“While AI and automated systems can reduce administrative burdens and track patient refill adherence,” Dr. Mbogo stated, arguing that technology cannot evaluate complex patient dynamics or replace human clinical judgment at the grassroots level.
She emphasized that Level 3 facilities—historically viewed as basic outpatient centers—are now at the frontline of managing chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and early-stage renal disease.
Level 3 centers are increasingly managing complex medication regimens, antimicrobial stewardship, maternal health, and pharmacovigilance. Subsequently, PSK noted that patients require proactive medication review—monitoring drug interactions, adherence, and organ function changes—rather than simple pill dispensing.
The PSK leadership further clarified that deploying pharmacists to Level 3 is not a new policy burden but an existing human resources requirement under Ministry of Health norms and the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Act / Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) guidelines.
Policy Impact and Next Steps
PSK called for immediate coordination between county departments of health and the PPB to address distribution imbalances.
“Rather than allowing pharmacies to concentrate heavily in high-revenue urban commercial areas, as a Society we are urging the authorities to carry out targeted public deployment to rural and underserved communities to ensure equitable access to comprehensive pharmaceutical care across all 47 counties,” Dr. Mbogo said.
According to Dr. Irene Weru, a senior specialist pharmacist at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and research Hospital (KUTRRH), some of the key insights why Level 3 deployment is critical, include; the evolving patient needs at primary care; managing long-term condition regimens requires proactive pharmaceutical care—checking drug interactions, monitoring kidney/liver function changes, and tracking therapy adherence—rather than simple pill dispensing.
“Early management of chronic conditions at grassroots facilities helps prevent expensive complications, such as end-stage renal disease requiring long-term dialysis,” she pointed out.
With thousands of registered pharmacists available, Dr. Weru noted that the bottleneck is equitable distribution and public-sector absorption rather than total workforce availability.
“Having a pharmacist oversee Level 3 facilities supports the existing healthcare team, allowing pharmaceutical technologists and other technical personnel to work effectively within their respective scopes,” she argued.
The conflict surrounding Level 3 pharmacy deployments centers on Kenya’s GPP Guidelines introduced by the PP). The guidelines have triggered intense friction between degree-qualified pharmacists, diploma-holding pharmaceutical technologists, and the Ministry of Health.
It’s understood that the tension stems from a regulatory shift requiring only degree-holding pharmacists to serve as superintendents – the individuals with overall management and oversight responsibility – at Level 3 Health Centres and Level 4- Sub-County Hospitals.
