The University of Nairobi Faculty of Pharmacy Alumni Association on Friday marked 50 years of pharmaceutical training and service with a free medical camp at Olympic Primary School in Kibra Sub-County, Nairobi, benefiting hundreds of residents with essential health services.
The camp provided free consultations, medicines, dental and eye services, childhood vaccinations, and screenings for diabetes, hypertension, breast cancer, and cervical cancer, supported by Nairobi City County, the UoN Dental and Eye Hospitals, Equity Afia, the Diabetes Management Institute, Vitali Health, MEDS, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and Kenyatta National Hospital.
Speaking during the event, Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK) President, Dr. Wairimu Mbogo, hailed the outreach as a practical demonstration of pharmacy’s central role in healthcare.
“When pharmacists step into the community to screen, treat, counsel, and refer patients, they bring healthcare closer to the people. This is where our training meets our calling,” she said.
Dr. Mbogo urged Kenyans to demand professional pharmaceutical care, noting that the public has a right to know who is serving them.
“If you see a green cross, it means a pharmacist a university-trained expert is present and If you see a blue cross, it means a qualified pharmaceutical technologist is serving you. This distinction is for your safety. As PSK, we continue to fight infiltration by quacks and unsafe practices. Your safety is not negotiable,” she emphasized.
She added that the outreach also pointed to the future of pharmacy in Kenya.
“As we reflect on 50 years of the School of Pharmacy, we are also laying the foundation for the next 50 where pharmacy will be more visible, more responsive, and deeply embedded in Kenya’s health system,” Dr. Mbogo observed.
The UoN School of Pharmacy, established in 1974 through a presidential decree, has since produced more than 2,190 graduate pharmacists and 150 postgraduate specialists, many of whom now serve in academia, government, industry, and international organizations.
Chairperson of the Alumni Association, Prof. Anastasia Guantai, a member of the pioneer 1974 class, said the anniversary was a significant milestone for the profession and the country.
“From a class of only 30 students in 1974, today the School admits more than 100 per intake. Our graduates have gone on to shape pharmacy education across Kenya, serve in international organizations, and influence policy and practice both locally and globally,” she noted.
Prof. Guantai explained that Kibra was deliberately chosen as the outreach site due to its proximity to the UoN medical campus and the community’s pressing health needs.
“We felt it was important to give back to the community that lives closest to us. This camp is only the beginning, and the data gathered here will inform future programmes and enrich our curriculum so that our graduates remain relevant to national health needs,” she said.
Lead practitioner for the camp, Prof. Margaret Oluka, said the medical outreach was organized to ensure the local community directly benefited from the milestone.
“Our aim here is to celebrate the School of Pharmacy’s 50 years by reaching out to the community with health services ,we worked closely with our partners to make this a success, and we are glad the residents have turned up in large numbers to benefit,” she explained.
For Kibra residents, the 50 year milestone translated into immediate benefits free treatment, medicines, and renewed hope for more sustained community healthcare outreach.
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