Africa will be setting up its first agency to check the spread of spurious drugs
ON DECEMBER 10, 2018, drug regulators and health experts from 55 African Union (AU) nations came together in Rwanda’s Kigali to rein in a giant killer: fake medicines in the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa received almost half of the world’s “fake and low-quality” medicines between 2013 and 2017, says the World Health Organization’s (who) report titled The Global Surveillance and Monitoring System of Substandard and Falsified Medical Products. It adds that fake drugs alone kill more than 0.16 million people suffering from malaria every year in the region. This costs $38.5 million to patients and health providers for further care due to failure of treatment.
In August 2017, AU member nations had floated the idea of setting up the continent’s first-ever drug harmonisation programme, under which a medicine entering Africa will be tested using common regulatory guidelines. In May 2018, the idea was given shape when health ministers from member nations met in Geneva and adopted a treaty to set up the nodal African Medicines Agency (ama), under AU’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (nepad), by January 2019 “to harmonise medical regulations of member countries”.
Denne historien er fra January 01, 2019-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra January 01, 2019-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara
