EXPOSED! Counterfeit emergency pills being sold in Nairobi chemists
An investigation by Nairobi News has revealed the lucrative trade of counterfeit emergency pills in Nairobi that involves chemist owners in residential areas and shadowy racketeers.
The impact of this illicit trade has been the rise of unplanned pregnancies among women, both married and single.
Emergency pills are hormonal medications used to prevent a pregnancy after unprotected intercourse. They famously known as Morning After Pills and are sold in city chemists from Shs 150.
Our investigation has found that chemists in Nairobi have now been flooded by imitations of the morning after pills which are cheaper but ineffective.
“There are generic and imitations from different companies. They have limited effectiveness that varies between individuals because these are hormonal medicines,” Benjamin who owns a chemist in Ngara explained.
The biggest dilemma to users is that there is no clear way of distinguishing between the counterfeits and the original emergency pills.
PREGNANCY TEST
Rose, a lady in her mid-twenties living in Nairobi, could not believe her eyes when a pregnancy test turned positive. She had had unprotected sex and taken pills the following morning.
“I took the pills as prescribed just few hours after having unprotected sex and I expected everything to go well. I only realized a few weeks later that I had fallen pregnant,” she said with a shocked face.
Rose is among many women who have had to endure the brunt of purchasing counterfeit emergency pills.
“When my time for periods came, nothing much really happened. I only saw little blood. I sensed danger right there and decided do a pregnancy test. I was pregnant.
I shared the news with a friend who confirmed to me that I had used a fake emergency pill. I procured an abortion because really I was not ready for a baby,” Rose confessed.
She added that she had been using emergency pills several times before.
” I can’t trust these pills any more. I actually no longer use them.”
STIMULATE PERIODS
There is also an emerging trend among Nairobi women to use the emergency pills to stimulate monthly periods. This involves taking the pills shortly before periods to “make them come”.
Vicky, a lady in her early twenties says; “I got this idea from a friend when I told her that my periods were taking so long to come. The pills works as a catalyst in the body at that time for me.”
Doctor Frank, a gynecologist based in Nairobi said; “Use of emergency pills to bring menses is very dangerous for the body because they have high hormonal levels which alters the functioning of a woman’s’ body.”
He added that there are safer medications that can be used to bring or postpone menses.