27/10/2025
Ozempic (Semaglutide) in Kenya: Availability, Cost, Insurance & Regulations.
Availability in Urban Kenya (Nairobi, Mombasa)
Ozempic (semaglutide) is available in Kenyan cities – but only by prescription. Licensed pharmacies (both brick-and-mortar and online) stock Ozempic pens.
For example, Family Drugmart Nairobi lists Ozempic 1 mg injection at about KSh 66,500 per dose, and BetterLife Kenya sells a 1 mg pen for around KSh 64,000.
Clinics specializing in obesity or diabetes management also offer semaglutide injections under medical supervision. Nords Polyclinic (Nairobi) advertises weekly GLP-1 injections (4/week) in a weight-loss program (~KSh 75,000/month for the package).
Private wellness clinics – e.g., Dr. Stasch Clinic, Rayhaan Healthcare, Avané Clinic – explicitly incorporate Ozempic into their medically supervised weight-loss programs.
All sales require a doctor’s prescription. Kenyan authorities (Pharmacy & Poisons Board) stress that Ozempic is prescription-only and must be dispensed by authorized pharmacies on a valid Rx.
In practice, this means you need a physician or specialist to prescribe semaglutide. It cannot be bought over the counter.
Examples of outlets: Family Drugmart Kenya (online/in-store) and BetterLife Kenya (online) both list Ozempic pens for sale. familydrugmartkenya.com betterlifekenya.co.ke.
Clinics: Facilities like Nords Polyclinic and Nairobi Bariatric Center in Nairobi offer Ozempic injections as part of supervised weight-loss packages.
Prescription: The Pharmacy & Poisons Board emphasizes that only qualified medical professionals may prescribe semaglutide kenyans.co.ke.
Pricing – What It Costs per Month
Ozempic is quite expensive in Kenya. Local prices for a 1 mg weekly injection (the usual maintenance dose) are roughly KSh 64,000–66,500 per shot. Since most patients inject once a week, that works out to about KSh 250,000–270,000 per month.
In fact, a health report notes “in Kenya, one shot of the injection costs a whopping Ksh50,000”. (Early starter doses like 0.25 mg pens sell for slightly less, ~KSh 55,000 each, but patients are usually titrated up to higher doses.)
Some clinics bundle the injections. For example, Nords Polyclinic advertises 4 injections per month for KSh 75,000, though this likely reflects special pricing or use of a generic. In any case, budget roughly KSh 200,000–300,000 per month for a continuous Ozempic regimen.
Pharmacy prices: Family Drugmart – Ozempic 1 mg pen ~KSh 66,500; BetterLife KE – 1 mg ~KSh 64,000.
Clinic packages: Nords (Nairobi) – ~KSh 75,000 for 4 weekly shots per month.
Range: In practice, Kenyans report paying on the order of 50–66K per dose, i.e., roughly KSh 200–270K/month.
Insurance Coverage (Private Health Plans)
Currently, no mainstream Kenyan health plans cover Ozempic for weight loss. Private insurers generally treat weight-loss treatments as elective or “lifestyle” therapies. In fact, many policies explicitly exclude weight-management. That means if you take Ozempic purely to lose weight, you would pay out of pocket.
Even if you have private medical cover, insurers will only pay for Ozempic when it’s prescribed for an approved indication (type 2 diabetes) – and even then, only if that treatment is part of your declared condition. In other words, if you have a legitimate diabetes claim, the insurer might reimburse the cost of Ozempic as a diabetes drug, but they will not reimburse it as an obesity treatment. Because Ozempic is not licensed for weight loss in Kenya (see below), insurers view its use for slimming as off-label and non-essential.
No coverage for obesity: Health plans commonly list “weight management treatments and drugs” as an exclusion, effectively barring Ozempic when used for slimming.
Diabetes-only: Some insurers may cover semaglutide under a diabetes benefit (since Ozempic is approved for T2D) – but only when the patient is legitimately diabetic.
Why not covered: Off-label obesity use is seen as cosmetic/lifestyle. Until regulatory approvals change, insurance won’t cover it for weight loss.
Regulatory Status in Kenya
Kenya’s Pharmacy & Poisons Board (PPB) has only approved Ozempic for type 2 diabetes, not for obesity. In August 2025, the PPB warned the public that semaglutide is “strictly approved for the treatment of adults with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes” and cautioned against its unsupervised use for slimming. The PPB repeatedly emphasizes that semaglutide is a prescription-only medicine and that its off-label use for weight loss is inappropriate.
Importantly, the higher-dose weight-loss brand Wegovy (semaglutide 2.4 mg) is not available in Kenya at all.
In short, Ozempic can be legally used here only as a diabetes medication. No semaglutide product (Ozempic or Wegovy) is officially registered for obesity treatment in Kenya.
Approved use: Only for type 2 diabetes (glucose control).
Weight-loss use: Off-label and not approved; PPB explicitly has not approved Ozempic for weight management.
Wegovy: The obesity-specific semaglutide formulation is not sold in Kenya.
Citations
OZEMPIC (SEMAGLUTIDE) 1MG INJECTION - Family Drugmart Kenya
https://familydrugmartkenya.com/product/ozempic-semaglutide1mg-injection/
OZEMPIC (SEMAGLUTIDE) 1MG PFP 1`S - BetterLife KE
https://betterlifekenya.co.ke/product/ozempic-semaglutide-1mg-pfp-1s/
Weight Loss Injections -
https://nords.ke/weight-loss-injections/
Ozempic for Weight Loss: Everything You Need to Know About Ozempic Injections in Kenya - Rayhaan Healthcare
https://rayhaanhealth.com/ozempic-for-weight-loss-everything-you-need-to-know-about-ozempic-injections-in-kenya/
Ozempic for Weight Loss - Avané Cosmetic Dermatology Clinic and Aesthetic Medicine Clinic
https://www.avaneclinic.com/weight-loss/ozempic/
Ministry of Health Warns Against Off-Label Use of Semaglutide (Ozempic) for Weight Loss - Kenyans.co.ke
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/115406-ministry-health-warns-against-label-use-semaglutide-ozempic-weight-loss
OZEMPIC (SEMAGLUTIDE) 1MG INJECTION - Family Drugmart Kenya
https://familydrugmartkenya.com/product/ozempic-semaglutide1mg-injection/
Slim at any Cost: Inside Kenya’s risky weight-loss craze… from liposuction to diabetes drugs – Willow Health Media
https://willowhealthmedia.org/slim-at-any-cost-inside-kenyas-risky-weight-loss-craze-from-liposuction-to-diabetes-drugs/
OZEMPIC (SEMAGLUTIDE) 0.25MG PFP 1`S - BetterLife KE
https://betterlifekenya.co.ke/product/ozempic-semaglutide-0-25mg-pfp-1s/
Top 10 Medical Insurance Companies in Kenya
https://midline.co.ke/top-10-medical-insurance-companies-in-kenya/
Ministry of Health Warns Against Off-Label Use of Semaglutide (Ozempic) for Weight Loss - Kenyans.co.ke
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/115406-ministry-health-warns-against-label-use-semaglutide-ozempic-weight-loss
Slim at any Cost: Inside Kenya’s risky weight-loss craze… from liposuction to diabetes drugs – Willow Health Media
https://willowhealthmedia.org/slim-at-any-cost-inside-kenyas-risky-weight-loss-craze-from-liposuction-to-diabetes-drugs/
Ozempic for Weight Loss • Dr. Stasch Clinic
https://drstasch.com/blog/ozempic-for-weight-loss/
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