One-third of medicines in Africa are fake – WHO

Critics blame the life-threatening phenomenon on governments that have demonstrated lack of commitment to tackle the issue

The circulation of counterfeited medicines in Africa in particular and developing countries in general has attained alarming highs, according to the WHO.
Records indicate that in Africa a third of all available drugs are fake while in all developing countries combined, the figure stands at one-quarter. The statistics sharply contrast the situation in the developed world with a rather bearable one-percent circulation of bogus medicines.
The situation appears so troubling that the WHO convened experts at a meeting in Geneva from 19 to 27 January. The intention was to chart new ways of combating the current global boom in counterfeited drugs.
However, skeptics here say they expect little from the meeting that sought to seek an international treaty against the phenomenon. They say the absence of a real political will on the part of the government only encourages the influx of fake drugs sold naively or deliberately at hospital dispensaries, pharmacies and in the streets alike.
It is believed that 75 percent of these medicines are manufactured in India with about half destined for developing countries and especially Africa, transiting via Dubai to camouflage the origin. Curiously, parts of the consignments pass through customs to flood local markets.
Experts say to significantly curb the phenomenon that is linked to strange reactions and even sudden deaths among ailing Africans, the government must demonstrate a strong commitment. In the past, the government has promised and never really implemented severe sanctions, inter-alia.
And so the phenomenon has only flourished and expanded. In Cameroon, for example, thousands still sell drugs of dubious origins and quality around the streets or at roadside stores.
Reasons advanced to justify the booming fake medicines business in Cameroon include the high and prohibitive costs of authentic medicines, high import duties and taxes, complex regulations, lapses in the protection of trademarks and consumer ignorance and weak legislation.
WHO statistics reveal that customs duties and taxes put together weigh at least 20 percent in the final of authentic drugs on local markets. Adding to the cutthroat competition from the generally cheap-selling fake medicines, authentic dealers are left with little choice than pull out altogether.