The Ministry of Health has cautioned that continued abuse of emergency contraceptive pills in the country is likely to result to infertility and other health problems for women if not halted.
The ministry’s head of preventive and promotional health Andrew Mulwa noted that contraceptives should be used more than three times per year.
“It is a criminal syndicate that brings in these goods into the country. I may not be able to give the right answers because, from the health perspective, our responsibility is to tell people this is not good. As far as the ministry is concerned, we have already done and we continue to do public awareness that these products are not safe. And if we deter the population from using the substances, the criminal enterprise will collapse because they will not have a market,” Mulwa stated.
Progesterone is a progestin (female hormone) drug that works as part of hormone replacement treatment by reducing the quantity of estrogen in the uterus.
Progesterone levels that are too high are linked to a disorder known as congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
Estrogen, on the other hand, is a sex hormone that is involved in the development and control of the female reproductive system as well as secondary sex characteristics.
According to Albert Ndwiga of the Ministry of Health, despite the Pharmacy and Poisons Board issuing an advisory regarding the drug, the maker of which is unknown, the drug is still on the Kenyan market despite its serious negative effects.
Experts from the University of Nairobi tested the medications at the national quality laboratory and discovered that they included high quantities of estrogen and progesterone, which are harmful to newborns.
“The analysis showed that the tablet is not herbal at all. It contains very high levels of estrogen and progesterone which are toxic to a lot of people. We have seen children being born and they develop precocious puberty,” Ndwiga said.
