Pharmaceutical products are distributed by the public medical stores department (MSD) and 291 TFDA-registered private wholesalers. The private wholesalers procure from international and local suppliers and distribute to:

1)      MSD (through tenders)

2)      352 registered retail pharmacies

3)      6,000 Duka la Dawas (drug stores licensed to sell only non-prescription medicines) directly to hospitals.

Pharmacy retail outlets in Tanzania are of two types: Part I pharmacies sell both prescription only and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and must be operated by a registered pharmacist; Part II pharmacies are those that are licensed to sell OTC medicines; some general stores also market a limited range of OTC medicines[1].

[1] Ibid.