According to a recently published study, as much as one-fifth of medicines in Africa could be substandard or fake, resulting in failed treatments and preventable deaths.
Researchers from Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar University reviewed 27 studies and analyzed about 7,508 medicine samples. At least 1,639 samples failed quality tests, indicating that substandard and falsified medicines are prevalent in Africa.
This study raises the alarm over a public health crisis that could be contributing to the deaths of countless patients in low- and middle-income countries. Besides increasing public awareness, stakeholders must strengthen supply chains and improve logistical issues to prevent, detect, and respond to substandard and falsified medicines.
While the study's findings are worrying, Africa isn’t manufacturing subpar or counterfeit medicines. Countries outside of the continent, such as China and India, are the producers and suppliers of fake medicines. This is a global public health crisis, and putting the emphasis only on African stakeholders to fix this problem is unfair.