Kenya’s healthcare sector faces a major disruption as over 11,000 pharmaceutical technologists threaten to down their tools on Thursday over newly adopted practice rules. The dispute centers on the 2026 Good Pharmacy Practice Standards issued by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB), which practitioners argue will severely restrict diploma holders’ scope of practice.
According to the Kenya Pharmaceutical Association (KPA), the new standards limit diploma-level technologists to operating exclusively in low-level dispensaries. Meanwhile, degree-holding pharmacists would retain sole authorization to administer and manage medicines across Level 3 to Level 6 health facilities. KPA Chairman Chitechi Amboka denounced the guidelines as discriminatory, noting that diploma holders constitute more than 70 percent of Kenya’s pharmacy workforce and manage daily drug supply chains across 3,569 public health facilities.
Kenneth Omogi, Chairman of the Kenya National Union of Pharmaceutical Technologists (KNUPT), echoed these concerns. He warned that members may shut down facilities, maintaining that the new rules contradict existing legal frameworks governing health professions.
However, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale dismissed these claims. Duale stated on September 3 that the standards do not bar any category of qualified pharmacy professionals from practicing at any level of the health system. He clarified that the regulations distinguish between general practitioners and facility superintendents, matching oversight responsibilities to service complexity and patient safety risks. Duale added that the regulations are also designed to curb illegal practices, such as the renting or leasing of professional licenses.
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Despite these government clarifications ahead of the planned January 1, 2027 rollout, union leadership demands an immediate suspension of the guidelines to prevent a full healthcare shutdown.
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