Pharmacy Board holds first quarter Regional Ad-hoc Task Force meetings in Southern and Eastern Regions
Pharmacy Board holds first quarter Regional Ad-hoc Task Force meetings in Southern and Eastern Regions
Bo/Kenema 16–17 April 2026— The Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone (PBSL) has successfully convened its first quarter Regional Ad-hoc Task Force meetings in the Southern and Eastern Regions holding separate sessions in Bo on 16 April and in Kenema on 17 April 2026. The meetings brought together key stakeholders from both regions to review progress address emerging challenges and strengthen collaboration in medicines regulation.
The Regional Ad-hoc Task Force was established to extend the Board’s regulatory reach beyond its Freetown headquarters into all four regions of the country. It serves as a critical bridge between the Board and local communities enabling timely intelligence gathering coordinated enforcement action and broad-based sensitisation on pharmaceutical governance matters.
The Task Force’s mandate includes monitoring illegal drug peddling enforcing pharmaceutical regulations at the local level facilitating the creation of chiefdom bye-laws against drug peddling and fostering collaboration between the Board law enforcement agencies traditional rulers and local governance structures.
Its multi-sectoral membership comprises Paramount Chiefs Chief Administrators Magistrates Local Unit Commanders of the Sierra Leone Police Force District Pharmacists District Medical Officers and other key stakeholders. The Task Force operates in Kono and the regional headquarters towns of Bo Kenema and Makeni meeting quarterly to assess pharmaceutical regulation and adopt new Board strategies.
At both sessions minutes of previous meetings were read and adopted and action points assigned to designated individuals. The Registrar Dr. James Peter Komeh reaffirmed the Board’s commitment to ensuring only safe efficacious and quality-assured medicines circulate in Sierra Leone. He highlighted the continued threat posed by Tramadol abuse and the illicit substance Kush.
The Officers in Charge for both regions provided updates on licensed premises recent enforcement operations and field challenges including delayed licence renewals and non-compliance by some operators. Members called for stronger implementation of the MoU with the Sierra Leone Police Force acceleration of chiefdom bye-laws and closer community engagement to combat pharmaceutical crime at the grassroots level.
The successful convening of these meetings reaffirms PBSL’s commitment to inclusive region-wide pharmaceutical governance — a shared responsibility requiring the collective efforts of government law enforcement traditional authorities and communities alike.
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Information and Communications Department
Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone (PBSL)