Health experts have expressed growing concern over the emergence of illegal herbal creams and unregulated drug sales on the streets of Harare and throughout Zimbabwe.
A disturbing increase in the presence and sale of unregulated medicines is bedeviling the country, with worry rising over the dangerous outcomes associated with these products.
In recent years, the capital has witnessed a sharp rise in informal drug outlets commonly referred to as “backyard pharmacies”.
These unlicensed operations are often run from residential homes, tuckshops, market stalls, or simply from blankets laid on busy pavements.
They sell a wide range of products, including antibiotics, painkillers, skin-lightening creams, herbal concoctions, and even restricted prescription medicines.
Surveys reveal that these backyard pharmacies operate without any quality control, cold chain storage, or professional oversight.
Some of the drugs may be counterfeit, expired, adulterated, or incorrectly labelled.
Itai Rusike, the executive director of the Community Working Group on Health (CWGH), expressed alarm over the proliferation of these vendors, noting the trend puts patients' health and safety at serious risk.
“The challenge is and has always been the gap in communicating the dosage schedule and indication for treatment,” Rusike said.
“There is no accreditation or regulation of the practitioners, their practice, nor their premises, as is done for registered pharmacists trained in conventional medicine".
Rusike also highlighted a dangerous lack of scientific data: “There is generally a lack of clinical trials, scientific data and evidence to support the efficacy of street medicines, despite some claims from treated individuals”.
He called for widespread health and treatment literacy programmes to stop citizens from “taking wild gambles” with their health.
Rusike urged that: “the regulatory authorities should also be seen to effectively apply the laws regulating the sale of medicines in the country and protecting the health and safety of the general public without fear or favour”.
Johannes Marisa, president of the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners of Zimbabwe, echoed these concerns, stating that selling drugs from unregulated places is a major threat to public health.
“When we are talking of public health, we become very worried when we see drugs being sold everywhere," Marisa said.
He warned that counterfeit drugs can create a “false belief that you are recovering from something, yet you are taking a counterfeit drug, which does not work”.
He added that such practices prolong infections and increase both morbidity and mortality.
The trend is largely driven by economic hardships that have made formal healthcare unaffordable for many, alongside high unemployment that has pushed individuals into pharmaceuticals as a lucrative vending commodity.
The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) has repeatedly warned that these unregistered products pose significant risks, including kidney and liver damage, high blood pressure, and increased cancer risk.
In response, the government has introduced stiffer penalties, with offenders now facing up to 20 years in prison.