Low Quality, Unregistered Malaria Drugs Widespread in Kenya, Health Officials Report
More than half of the 113 brands of malaria drugs sold in Kenya are not registered or are of poor quality, and most are not recommended by the government, the Ministry of Health said recently, the Daily Nation reports. An unpublished report compiled by government officials, researchers at the University of Nairobi and the World Health Organization indicates that drug manufacturers and distributors are illegally working with some health ministry officials to distribute their drugs, the Daily Nation reports. In addition, only 11 of the 40 different malaria drug formulations available in the country are recommended under the national treatment guidelines, and almost half of available malaria drugs are unregistered with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board. Although Director of Public Health and Sanitation Swaleh Sharif admitted to drug delivery issues in the country, he said that Kenya's drug supply is stocked with the recommended first-line malaria drugs, including artemether-lumefantrine.
A second study completed by the health ministry and researchers from Boston University and Oxford University found that health facilities are stocked with some malaria drugs not recommended by the government. The report also found that in facilities where AL was stocked, it was not commonly used. The study also found that some samples of quinine had subpar levels of active ingredients. Four of the five samples of quinine that failed tests at the National Quality Control Laboratory on content of active ingredients were manufactured locally, while one was imported from India. Additionally, researchers found that monotherapies and other second-line formulas that are not recommended for sale are outselling AL treatments. WHO has called on several companies, including some Kenyan manufactures, to halt production of malaria monotherapies, but the agency reports that only 40 of 74 companies have complied. Eighteen of the 42 countries that allow companies to market monotherapies are in sub-Saharan Africa (Gathura, Daily Nation, 1/4).
