Gov’t Warns Kenyan Women Against Using Chinese Herbal Birth Control Pill

The Ministry of Health has warned Kenyan women against the use of an illegal and dangerous ‘birth control’ drug said to be from China.

The drug is sold in the local market as a Chinese herbal contraceptive pill that should be taken once per month, according to the ministry.

The ministry said the drug whose manufacturer is unknown is still on sale in the Kenyan market despite the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) warning about its severe side effects.

Tests conducted on the drugs by experts from the University of Nairobi at the national quality laboratory found that they have high levels of estrogen and progesterone that affect babies.

“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,” said Dr. Albert Ndwiga, the national family planning programme manager at the ministry.

“You start developing secondary sexual characteristics at a very early age, other boys fail to develop secondary sexual characteristics which include genitalia growth and it is very sad because people are still taking that pill. It is dangerous, they should stop,” he added.

Dr. Andrew Mulwa, the head of preventive and promotive health at the ministry, said unscrupulous individuals have been taking advantage of Kenya’s porous borders to ship in illegal drugs.

“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," Dr. Mulwa stated.

“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.”