Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/DAKAR: The United Nations has said that up to 50 per cent of medicine in West Africa are counterfeit and fake, which leads to antimicrobial resistance and toxic contaminations while undermining trust in healthcare systems.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report that around 605 tonnes of medicine were seized in West Africa during global operations between January and December 2021.
The report said that though reporting is inconsistent, the actual number was likely higher.
The report said that across sub-Saharan Africa, up to 44.7 million dollars annually is spent on treating people who have used counterfeit and substandard medicine for malaria treatment.
UN stance on trafficked medicines
The report said that counterfeit and poorly made drugs do not work, lead to toxic contaminations, and raise resistance to frontline drugs such as antibiotics and antimalarials.
UNODC Research and Awareness Unit head Francois Patuel said that “once a (legitimate) product was diverted from the supply chain, there was very little (oversight) about how it was being used.
He said that if you ask for an antibiotic in the market, you could be able to purchase it. Whether it is the right antibiotic that is used and should be used at all, is not something that is controlled.
“It is contributing to bacterial resistance and antimalarial resistance.”
The report has explicitly focused on trafficking within the Sahel nations of Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger.
The report said that the medical products diverted from the legal supply chain come from Europe and, to a lesser extent, from India and China.
