République du Bénin · Ministère de la Santé

ePharmacie Bénin

Every medicine in Benin, traceable to the unit — from the factory gate to the patient.

The Government of Benin's national platform for pharmaceutical traceability. Built on GS1 standards, it gives the regulator, public supply agencies and private operators one catalog, one serial registry and one real-time view of the medicine supply chain.

Verify a medicine

Verify a medicine before you take it

Every box distributed through ePharmacie carries a square GS1 DataMatrix code. Scanning it with the ePharmacie app confirms that the medicine is registered in Benin and shows the path it took to reach you.

  1. Find the DataMatrix code on the box — a small square barcode, usually next to the batch number and expiry date.
  2. Open the ePharmacie app and scan it. The app works on any Android phone with a camera.
  3. Read the result: the product name, batch, expiry date, and whether the box is authentic.
ePharmacieFree · Android
Get it on Google Play
If the app does not confirm the box is authentic, do not take it.

Keep the box and report it to the Beninese Medicines Agency (ABMed) so it can be traced and withdrawn.

Hotline number — to be confirmed by the Ministry
ePharmacie app: scanner view framing the DataMatrix on a medicine box ePharmacie app: product details with CUPC, batch, expiry, serial and an "Authentique" result

A national response to counterfeit medicines

The fight against falsified medicines and full control of the medicine life cycle is a strategic priority for Benin's health system. To strengthen public health safety, the Government of Benin launched the ePharmacie programme: a national unit-level traceability platform, founded on GS1 international standards, that applies to every actor in the pharmaceutical chain — public and private alike.

The platform anchors the whole market on the Catalogue National des Produits Pharmaceutiques (CNPP) — a single product catalog keyed by the CUPC national product code and the GS1 GTIN — so that every system in the country speaks the same product language. It was designed after a nationwide assessment of the information systems used by SoBAPS, ABMed, wholesalers and private pharmacies.

For the regulatorTotal market visibility: public and private volumes, prices and unit-level traceability in one national picture, without reconciling parallel systems.
For SoBAPS and public facilitiesConsistent regulated pricing and automated replenishment signals, with prices set once nationally rather than facility by facility.
For private operatorsCommercial autonomy over brands and prices, inside the national traceability and reporting framework rather than outside it.
For patientsThe same product-safety guarantees whichever door they buy from: batch recall reach, expiry control and scan-verifiable provenance.
Against counterfeitsA unit without a valid registered serial is immediately suspect; a unit with one carries its complete, authentic history.
For supply decisionsStockouts and expiries surface in dashboards as they develop, not months later in paper reports.

Every actor in the chain, on one platform

ePharmacie connects the regulator, the public supply network and private operators — each with its own role, scope and view of the system.

Governance and regulation

Ministère de la Santé
Programme owner. National oversight of the pharmaceutical supply chain, both sectors, through dashboards and reports.
ABMed
The Beninese Medicines Agency registers products and brands (AMM, marketing authorisation), assigns CUPC codes and publishes the CNPP national catalog.

Public supply

SoBAPS Centrale & Régionales
The central procurement agency and its regional warehouses (Cotonou, Parakou, Natitingou) — reception, warehousing and distribution.
DRZS & FOSA
Health-zone depots and public health facilities — ordering, receiving and dispensing to patients at the last mile.

Private sector

Grossistes Répartiteurs
Private wholesalers importing and distributing branded products, managing stock and prices at brand level.
Officines de Pharmacie
Private pharmacies ordering from their wholesalers and dispensing to patients, with every sale traceable.

How medicines flow — and how ePharmacie sees them

Benin's pharmaceutical supply runs through two parallel chains. Both post their movements to the same platform, so the national view is complete whichever chain a unit moves through.

Public sector

Regulated prices · what each level records in ePharmacie

LevelRegisters with ABMedReceives by scanIssues & deliversDispenses to patientsVerifies by scan

Manufacturers / Suppliers

Deliver against SoBAPS orders

SoBAPS Centrale

National reception, serialization & warehousing

SoBAPS Régionale

Cotonou, Parakou, Natitingou

DRZS

Health-zone depots serving facilities

FOSA

Hospitals & health centers

Patients & inspectors

Anyone with the app
Each level orders from the level above; every reception, issue and dispensation posts to ePharmacie in real time.

Private sector

Commercial prices · what each level records in ePharmacie

LevelRegisters with ABMedReceives by scanSells & deliversDispenses to patientsVerifies by scan

Manufacturers / Suppliers

Supply the market

Grossistes Répartiteurs

Import, price & distribute at brand level

Officines de Pharmacie

Order by brand; dispense with scan verification

Patients & inspectors

Anyone with the app
Wholesalers and pharmacies keep their own commercial prices — the platform never overwrites them — while every reception and sale posts to ePharmacie.

The life of one box, on record

From registration to verification, every step is a scan

Each box carries a GS1 DataMatrix encoding its GS1 product code (GTIN), batch, expiry and a unique serial number. The platform records every custody change — so recalls reach every unit, and counterfeits have nowhere to hide.

  1. Registered

    Brand authorised by ABMed (marketing authorisation), published to the CNPP catalog

    CUPC + GTIN

  2. Serialized

    Unique serial generated at reception; DataMatrix label printed and applied

    (21) SERIAL

  3. Received

    Scanned into stock at warehouse, depot, wholesaler or facility

    receipt · scan

  4. Moved

    Every issue, transfer and delivery links the serial to the document

    issue · transfer

  5. Dispensed

    Scanned out at the FOSA or officine counter, to the patient

    dispense · scan

  6. Verified

    Anyone scans the box and sees its authentic, complete history

    track & trace

What the platform covers

Live views from ePharmacie Bénin

Business Intelligence folder listing ten national dashboards including stock status, expired products and stockout reports
National report libraryReady-made dashboards: stock status at all levels, expiries, stockout rates, facility maps.
Facility stock status by product map dashboard with Benin map markers and a per-facility CBL, AMC and MOS table
Facility stock status by productWhich facilities are stocked, understocked or out, for any product, on the map of Benin.
Stock on Hand screen with months-of-stock legend and per-product SOH, AMC, MOS status and prices
Stock on hand with months-of-stock (MSD) classificationEach facility sees its own position, from stockout to overstock, against consumption-based thresholds.
National dashboard with stock totals by product group, facility stock status map and per-facility product stock
National dashboardTotal national stock by product group, sector and facility, filtered by department and health zone.