France’s Macron, African leaders push for vaccines for Africa after COVID-19 exposed inequalities
Associated PressJUN 21 2024
According to a recently published study, one-fifth of medicines in Africa could be substandard or fake and can result 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.
The researchers linked the high proportion of substandard or falsified medicines to poor surveillance systems, higher demand, and free trade zones in the region.
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 asking only African stakeholders to fix this problem is unfair.
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, the stakeholders must strengthen supply chains and improve logistical issues to prevent, detect, and respond to substandard and falsified medicines.