In the interest of protecting the public health, Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has recalled the sale of locally made hand sanitizer product (BEU).

In a statement, the regulatory body stipulated that those sanitizers failed to meet the market standards.

"Reference is made to laboratory quality control test results which revealed the aforementioned hand sanitizer failed to meet quality specifications,” the FDA said in a statement.

This comes at a time when hand sanitizers are in high demand than ever, as the country, like the rest of the world, battles with the coronavirus pandemic.

The acting Director-General of Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority, Dr Charles Karangwa urged suppliers to stop the distribution of the product.

"We are asking all users, suppliers, and distributors to stop the use and distribution of the product. It is better they return them to the suppliers for proper management,” he says.

Karangwa reminded the public to be cautious about basic information on labels to ensure quality before they can use products.

Regular use of hand sanitisers or washing hands with clean water and soap have been recommended as the most efficient way to mitigate the coronavirus epidemic.

In Rwanda, 82 cases have been registered while globally over 900,000 have contracted the virus.