Head of Afghanistan Food and Drug Administration Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority:
Dr. Abdulbari Omar (20230502) Dr. Abdul Bari Omar, Director of Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority(20230809)

As part of regulatory inspections, the Taliban Food and Drug Authority closed down 9 pharmacies in Kabul, the Afghan capital. According to a statement from the Taliban-run Food and Drug Authority, the officials observed 23 pharmacies in Kabul’s 5th, 6th, and 18th districts and shut down 9 of them for various reasons. The authority reported closing four pharmacies without pharmacists and five pharmacies that were operating illegally, without the documents. Dozens of pharmacies in the capital have already been closed due to the lack of documents and pharmacists. According to the Food and Drug Authority of the Taliban administration, monitoring teams also gathered 23 expired medications and eight illegal drugs from unlicensed pharmacies.

More than 90 pharmacies have previously been closed by this regulatory Food and Drug Authority of the Taliban government. Under all circumstances, the Taliban government’s National Food and Drug Authority has made clear that it will not permit unlicensed pharmacies to operate.(20220922)

Afghanistan’s Food and Drug Administration reported that a major portion of essential medicine entering the country is being smuggled in illegally.

The value of medicine imported into Afghanistan last year could be as much as $1 billion, but only around $44 million worth went through the Afghan customs procedures, said Ebrahim Shinwari, head of Afghanistan’s Food and Drug Administration.

“Who knows how much medicine will be imported into the country? Maybe, medicine costing 1$ billion will be imported. But statitistics from last year show medicine costing only $44 million was imported and registered in the country last year,” he said.

Executives in Farmaan Kaihan, a medicine-importing company in Afghanistan, says there is a mafia in the medicine business, and that 90% of medicine in the country is being imported illegally.

“I can prove with evidence that 90% of medicines are being illegally imported in the country while only 10% is brought in legally,” said Dr. Shafi, an employee in the company. 

Officials at the union of medicine-Importing companies say that illegal medicine and drugs are being imported into the country through smuggling.

“Not hundreds but thousands of medicine containers are being imported into the country and distributed in markets, some of this medicine is illicit and not on the government’s authorized medicine list. This list exists from previous years and has not been reviewed yet,” said Asadullah Kakar head of the union. 

There are few factories manufacturing medicines and drugs in the country, but only 6% of necessary medicine and pharmaceuticals consumed in Afghanistan are manufactured within the country, according to Afghanistan’s Food and Drug Administration.(202100228)