Published: September 2, 2026
MONROVIA — Medicines regulation will extend beyond Monrovia to all 15 counties by the first quarter of 2027, and a pharmaceutical waste disposal site has already opened in Margibi County, according to the Liberia Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority on Aug. 29.
By Blamo N. Toe
The decentralization will be phased, starting with selected counties before going nationwide, and will draw on regulatory pharmacists, public health technicians, pharmacy technicians, and other personnel, said Dr. S. Michael Chu Nepay, LMHRA director of Program Planning, Evaluation, Monitoring, Research, and Statistics. Nepay delivered remarks on behalf of LMHRA Managing Director Dr. Luke Bawo at the Liberia Health Management Sciences University’s Oath and Honors Program for Pharmacy Technicians in Monrovia.
The waste site is at Koko Town on Ziwor Road in Margibi County. Nepay said it is meant to improve the country’s capacity to dispose of pharmaceutical waste safely and to reduce environmental and public health risks.
Nepay said the authority is also working with Quality Management Solutions under a public-private partnership to establish a quality control laboratory that would allow Liberia to test medicines, herbal products and medical devices, and to carry out third-party testing of food and petroleum products. He said the laboratory would provide scientific support for the authority’s regulatory decisions.
A second announcement at the ceremony addressed pay and status. Pharmacy Board of Liberia Registrar Dr. Menlor P. Z. Dunah said discussions are underway with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, the Ministry of Health, and other stakeholders to reclassify pharmacy technicians, consistent with changes affecting other health workers. Meshach Gbollie, president of the graduating class, joined the call, urging the government to reclassify technicians and open paths for career advancement.
Speaking on the theme “The Benefits of Becoming a Certified Pharmacy Technician,” Nepay told the graduates that certification is the start of an obligation rather than the end of a course of study.
“An honor says, ‘You have done well.’ An oath says, ‘Now, this is what is expected of you,'” he said.
He said medicines are not ordinary commodities and that small errors carry serious consequences, urging diligence in storage, handling, stock management, documentation and dispensing. He also told the technicians to work within the limits of their authority and to consult pharmacists when a situation requires it.
“Knowing your scope of practice is itself a form of competence,” he said.
Nepay said certification should mark the beginning of continuous professional development as new medicines, technologies and regulations enter the sector. “The best professionals are not those who believe they know everything. They are those who remain curious enough to keep learning,” he said. On the oath itself, he said: “An oath has no value if it is only spoken. Its value is demonstrated through action.”
Gbollie said pharmacy technicians must serve as gatekeepers of medicines and ensure drugs are properly preserved, handled and dispensed.
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