Africa is the only continent where counterfeit medicines cause more deaths than non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases and respiratory diseases. Every year, more than 100,000 Africans lose their lives as they fall prey to counterfeit anti-malarials. The onus lies in the hands of logistical service providers, pharmaceutical companies and regulatory bodies to fight illegal supply chains of spurious drugs.
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but when it comes to spurious pharmaceuticals, it is far from flattery and could pose a serious threat to life. Counterfeiting medicines is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries. Recent studies suggest that one in 10 drugs around the world is counterfeit, and this statistic can reach seven in 10 in developing countries.
As for Africa, it is the only continent where counterfeit medicines cause more deaths than non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases and respiratory diseases. Every year, more than 100,000 African children under the age of five lose their lives as they fall prey to counterfeit anti-malarials.
One of the major challenge associated with a fake drug is that a layman cannot differentiate between genuine and counterfeit drug without the help of a special instrument or device. The packaging, shape and size of counterfeit drugs are made identical to that of an authentic drug by the counterfeiters. However, these fake drugs might not contain any active ingredients at all; they might contain the correct ingredients but at the wrong dose; or they could contain highly toxic ingredients. While ingesting a fake aspirin without any active ingredient most likely won’t have any major negative health effects, counterfeit medicines used to treat patients with life-threatening conditions like HIV/AIDS and malaria have devastating consequences.
The demand for counterfeit drugs is highest in impoverished, underdeveloped countries where a majority of the populace cannot afford or obtain medicines from legal sources. Weak, inconsistent laws and regulations, combined with a lack of visibility in the supply chain, allow illicit distributors to introduce counterfeit medicines, which often end up being sold in pharmacies or administered in hospitals
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January-February 2017 من Logistics Update Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January-February 2017 من Logistics Update Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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