11/12/2025
COFPAK Participates in High Level National Workshop on Strengthening Governance of Online Pharmacies in Kenya
The Confraternity of Patients Kenya (COFPAK) was pleased to participate in the national stakeholder workshop on “Strengthening the Governance of Online Pharmacies and Their Contribution to the Health System,” held on November 25–26, 2025, at Tamarind Tree Hotel, Nairobi.
COFPAK was represented by Mr. Ogallo Ogweno, National Chairperson, and Mr. Peter Omollo, Executive Director.
The workshop is part of the flagship project “Regulating E-Pharmacy: Challenges and Opportunities for Access and Quality of Care in LMIC Health Systems,” led by the Institute of Healthcare Management at Strathmore University Business School, in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and The George Institute for Global Health (TGI), India.
Purpose of the Workshop
With online pharmacies growing rapidly in Kenya, the workshop aimed to bring together key stakeholders to:
Understand the current e-pharmacy landscape
Identify regulatory challenges and opportunities
Co-create guiding principles for a strengthened regulatory framework
Build partnerships that can support safe, effective digital access to medicines
For COFPAK, this was an important platform to amplify the patient voice, especially around safety, trust, and quality of care in digital health services.
Key Gaps Identified
Discussions highlighted several areas that require attention:
1. Weak regulatory oversight for monitoring online pharmacies.
2. Delays in medication delivery, affecting treatment continuity.
3. Insufficient communication between patients and dispensing pharmacies.
These gaps can undermine patient safety, transparency, and confidence in e-pharmacy services.
Proposed Improvements
Stakeholders recommended:
1. Embedding patient-centered care in all e-pharmacy services, ensuring patients receive guidance, counselling, and follow-up, and not just deliveries.
2. Strengthening pharmacovigilance, with easy-to-use reporting channels for adverse drug reactions.
3. Enhancing communication between patients and pharmacies for clarity on prescriptions and delivery timelines.
4. Reducing delivery turnaround time to support timely access, especially for chronic disease patients.
Summation
COFPAK remains committed to promoting safe, accountable, and patient-centered digital healthcare. We value the collaborative spirit of this workshop and look forward to supporting the development of a regulatory framework that protects patients while enabling innovation in Kenya’s evolving e-pharmacy sector.
