All pharmacy kiosks that operate in Ukrainian cities will be closed by the end of this year, Chairman of the State Service for Medicine Oleksiy Soloviov has said.
"We have initiated changes in licensing terms, which provide for the closure of pharmacy kiosks by the end of the year," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday, noting that Ukraine is the only country where medicines are sold in kiosks.
According to Solovyov, there are 6,500 businesses involved in selling medicines in Ukraine. They are selling medications through 22,500 sites – drugstores, pharmacies and pharmacy kiosks – and 3,000 of them are pharmacy kiosks.
According to him, 80% of drugstores today are located in cities. According to the changes in licensing terms, pharmacy kiosks in rural areas (a total of about 600) will continue to work, but the requirements for their trade area are changed, as well as for staff qualifications and the conditions for medicine storage.
Solovyov said that Ukraine has the highest rate of accessibility of pharmacies – one shop per 2,400 people. In Denmark this figure is one per 17,000, and in Poland one per 6,000.
