It's an interesting phenomenon. We have general agreement that fake medicines put people in harms way – but an increasing number of these drugs are entering the world's markets. In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that up to 10 percent of all medicines are counterfeits, rising to 25 percent in some countries.
Read MorePolice personnel at Motema police station yesterday arrested a driver with four cartons of assorted pharmaceutical drugs at Mambodu junction in Kono district. Mustapha Kamara and his vehicle with registration number ADA 262 was stopped by the police for searching when the drugs were discovered. Kamara was being led to the station when a passenger…
Read MoreDakar, Senegal – The United Nations and its member states are failing to address serious threats to life and health posed by the promotion of unproven AIDS 'cures' and by counterfeit antiretroviral drugs," a global rights body, Human Rights Watch, stated in a recently released dossier. In the dossier, titled "Dangerous medicines: Unproven AIDS cures…
Read MoreThe evil of fake drugs have been described as worse than the combined scourge of malaria, HIV/AIDS and armed robbery put together because they can be prevented or they kill few at a time but fake drugs kill en mass. Secretary of the FCT Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs, Hajia Hauwa Kulu Ibrahim,…
Read MoreToday the House Appropriation's Committee's Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies held a hearing on drug safety. You can view the Partnership for Safe Medicines' thoughts on the matter here.
Read MoreIn its determination to eradicate the sale of fake drugs in the country, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Taskforce on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs (TFC&FD) has called on the public to desist from buying drugs from unregistered pharmacists stressing that "fake drugs are more vicious than the scourge of malaria and HIV/AIDS." Making the call…
Read MoreOne in five pharmaceutical drugs bought in Ouagadougou is counterfeit and sold on the street with no prescription and no expiry date, according to the Ministry of Health. Despite laws banning the practice, the government has lost control of the industry and the unregulated drug market continues to expand, with damaging health consequences, fear doctors…
Read MoreKenyans have been listed among African consumers at highest risk of exposure to counterfeit drugs. Findings of a recent study on the drugs market presented at the ongoing pan-African conference in South Africa indicates that many African governments lack the necessary mechanisms to curb the sale of counterfeit medicines. "The responsibility of combating counterfeits should…
Read MoreAn international conference to discuss counterfeit medicines in Africa, started this week in Johannesburg. The aim of the conference, which is sponsored by Pfizer, is for representatives from sub-Saharan countries to discuss threats that counterfeit medicines and unregistered generics pose for the safety of patients in this region and to develop joint plans of action…
Read MoreUN health and crime agencies say counterfeit drugs are killing people from China to Canada and they "promote the development of new strains of viruses, parasites and bacteria … for example in the case of malaria or HIV." And in many countries their manufacture and distribution is not even illegal. The United Nations Inter-regional Crime…
Read More