Pharmacy Board takes tramadol use restriction sensitization & stakeholders engagement in Port Loko

Port Loko North West Region 19th February 2026- The Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone has taken its ongoing nationwide sensitisation and stakeholders' engagement campaign on the restriction of Tramadol use to Port Loko in the North West region with a significant meeting bringing together key community stakeholders to strengthen compliance and collective action against drug abuse.

The Board Chairman who also serves as Chief Pharmacist Dr. Moses Batema chaired the session and set the tone early calling on all participants to take personal ownership of the fight against drug abuse. "This is not just about the Pharmacy Board — it is about all of us " he told attendees. Dr. Batema expressed satisfaction with the community-led approach the engagement has inspired emphasising that the fight against Tramadol abuse requires a shared responsibility that goes beyond regulatory bodies.

A highlight of the Port Loko session was the participation and endorsement of the Paramount Chief of the district. As custodian of the chiefdom he welcomed the initiative warmly thanking the Pharmacy Board for bringing the engagement to his community. He vowed his full support and went a step further proposing that the Pharmacy Board work closely with chiefdom authorities to formulate bye-laws that would give the Tramadol restriction enforceable weight at the local level — a suggestion that could serve as a replicable model for community-based drug policy enforcement across Sierra Leone.

The Registrar of the Pharmacy Board who was also present assured participants that all recommendations emerging from the session would be carefully reviewed and considered by the Board.

The Port Loko engagement is part of a wider nationwide sensitisation exercise that began in the South East aimed at enforcing a Ministerial Order issued in December 2025 by the Ministry of Health. The order banned the sale and use of Tramadol above 50mg capsules and 50mg/ml injectable formulations in Sierra Leone following growing public health and social concerns linked to its abuse.

The Pharmacy Board has urged all stakeholders and members of the public to support the initiative and to report any illegal sale or distribution of restricted Tramadol products.

The nationwide sensitisation tour is ongoing.