14 health facilities closed in crackdown

Mr Ali Omar Sheikh, a drug inspector with the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, addresses a health stakeholders meeting on July 23, 2016. The board has announced it will continue with the crack down on private health facilities operating illegally in Mandera town. PHOTO | MANASE OTSIALO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Issack Eliyas, the proprietor Blue Light Hospital, admitted that most personnel in the more than 100 private clinics and pharmacies in Mandera town are unqualified.

Fourteen health facilities have been closed in Mandera town for operating illegally.

Eight workers found in the clinics were also arrested during a swoop by police and officers from the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.

Mr Ali Omar Sheikh, a senior drug inspector with the board, said they will be arraigned in court on Monday.

He added that many of the operators were found to be unqualified and vowed that the clampdown will continue until all unauthorised facilities are stamped out.

“Mandera is a very unique place with its own challenges, but as regulators we will ensure we bring total compliance in health matters through the set laws,” he said.

Mr Issack Eliyas, the proprietor Blue Light Hospital, admitted that most personnel in the more than 100 private clinics and pharmacies in Mandera town are unqualified.

“We are running health facilities without appropriate licences and unqualified staff because the authorizing bodies have never bothered to come and assess our situation, but the time to change is now,” said Mr Eliyas.

He appealed to fellow health facility owners to comply with the law.

“We need to do the right thing by hiring the right personnel and to implement the entire law to save lives,” he added.

Mr Sheikh demanded that all health facilities register their units with the relevant authorities.

“We are always interested in the pharmacy unit. If we find that the drugs are of poor quality or the person in charge is unqualified, we will arrest them.”

Editing by Philip Momanyi