The Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone has intensified its regulatory enforcement in the provinces, concluding a two-day regional Disciplinary Committee Hearing in Bo and Makeni on 1st and 2nd October 2025.
The hearings, part of the Board’s quarterly compliance framework, resulted in fines being imposed on 76 pharmaceutical outlets for multiple breaches of the Pharmacy and Drugs Act 2021. The compliance framework includes routine inspections, disciplinary hearings and where necessary the closure or revocation of licences.
The outlets summoned included pharmacies, drugstores and patent medicine shops operating in Kenema, Bo, Mattru Jong, Makeni, Mile 91, Lunsar, Bamoi, Kambia, Port Loko and Magburaka. Violations were identified following inspections by the Board’s Distribution Chain Inspection Department.
Key infractions included the absence of qualified professionals on premises, possession of counterfeit and unregistered drugs, and the illegal stocking of Class A, B and other controlled substances in patent medicine shops, practices strictly prohibited under the 2021 Act.
Each violation attracted a fine of Le500, in accordance with Section 12(1) and Section 12(4)(b) of the Pharmacy and Drugs Act 2021. Offending outlets are required to make payment into the Pharmacy Board account within 21 days of the Committee’s ruling.
Thomas Joe Freeman Esq., representing the Office of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, stressed that the hearings aim not merely to penalize but to compel operators to cease practices that endanger public health. He warned that once the revised Act comes into effect, non-compliant outlets will face closure or licence revocation, with repeat offenders subject to stricter penalties.
The Pharmacy Board has called on all pharmaceutical operators nationwide to adhere strictly to licensing requirements, maintain qualified personnel on-site at all times and refrain from stocking prohibited or unregistered medicines. The Board reiterated that failure to comply will continue to attract disciplinary action.
