22% of medicines counterfeited in sub-Saharan Africa
- Posted on 06/09/2024 17:08
- Film
- By abelozih@sante-education.tg
Extract from the article: In sub-Saharan Africa, according to a report published in July 2024 by the British publisher of scientific and academic journals Taylor & Francis Group, around 22% of medicines sold are substandard or falsified. Entitled «Prevalence of substandard, f
In
sub-Saharan Africa, according to a report published in July 2024 by the British
publisher of scientific and academic journals Taylor & Francis Group,
around 22% of medicines sold are substandard or falsified. Entitled «Prevalence
of substandard, falsified, unlicensed and unregistered medicine and its
associated factors in Africa: A systematic review», the report was compiled
by researchers from the University of Bahir Dar, who analyzed and compiled 27
studies conducted on this theme at national level in several countries in the
region between April 2014 and March 2024.
«Africa
suffers from a lower level of public health and socio-economic effects due to
the higher prevalence of substandard, adulterated and unlicensed antibiotics,
antimalarials, antihelmintics and antiprototics. Their work showed that of the
7508 drug samples covered, 1639 had failed at least one quality test and were
found to be substandard or falsified. The lowest prevalence of substandard or
falsified medicines was reported in Gabon (0.5%), while the highest prevalence
was reported in Malawi (88.4%), followed by Ghana and Togo (75%)», reads
agenceecofin.
The
report also reveals that antibiotics, antimalarials, anthelmintics and
antiprotozoals are the most frequently reported substandard and falsified
medicines. The high prevalence of this type of medicine in sub-Saharan Africa
is mainly due to poor regulation of the medical products distribution market,
the development of free trade, insufficient registration, high demand and poor
import standards.
Head
of research at the Access to Medicine Foundation, a non-profit organization
based in Amsterdam, Claudia Martínez, described these findings as a major
public health problem. «If patients receive substandard or outright
adulterated medicines, it can lead to treatment failure and even preventable
deaths», she said.
According
to data published in 2023 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC), the human cost of falsified and substandard medicines would amount to
500,000 deaths per year in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization
(WHO) defines falsified medicines as those whose identity, composition or
source is misrepresented, either deliberately or fraudulently.
Inferior-quality
medicines, on the other hand, have defects such as underdosing, overdosing or
instability of the active substance. China and India appear to be the main
suppliers of “falsified” medicines, whose proportion in relation to approved
remedies in Africa is said to be as high as 60% in some places.Despite recent
efforts, seizures show that «the phenomenon remains significant and involves
highly organized criminal networks», according to Dr Innocent Kpéto, former
President of Togo's National Order of Pharmacists. In the absence of specific
legislation, trafficking in counterfeit medicines is often regarded as a simple
offence of counterfeiting, with penalties of a few months' imprisonment at
most.
Togo
is actually a pioneer after toughening up its penal code back in
2015.Traffickers are now liable to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of 50
million CFA francs (76,200 euros).
Jean
ELI