The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) will require GS1-compliant unit-level serialization of health products from 1 January 2027.
The deadline was announced by Dr Bramuel Tongola, Technical Advisor to the PPB Chief Executive Officer, at the PharmaReg AfriSummit 2026 in Nairobi on 29 September 2026. The requirement will combine batch-level traceability with unit-level serialization under the national authentication and traceability system.
The system is anchored in Kenya’s Digital Health Act, 2023. PPB has already begun batch declarations for locally manufactured and imported products and, with the Digital Health Agency, developed a national product catalogue. Longer-term implementation will focus on broader serialization, advanced analytics, system integration and international interoperability.
Dr Tongola emphasized that effective traceability depends on accurate product and supply-chain event data. The phased approach aims to strengthen product authentication and traceability across the supply chain, improving visibility and supporting targeted recalls.
Sources
- Primary: Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) — https://web.pharmacyboardkenya.org/kenya-advances-pharmaceutical-track-and-trace-and-serialization-system/
