Bitter Medicine

by Charles Wetherill

Leaders and health officials from around Africa are calling for action against the flood of counterfeit and substandard medicines which daily exhaust the confidence of patients and give advantages to diseases that need no advantage as they take lives. Africa faces the steepest health care challenges of any region in the world. Medicines that cannot be trusted compound those challenges beyond measure.

 Recently, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda called for stiffer penalties for dealers in counterfeit goods. He advocated for a national response to address the damage done to patient health, the economy, and the national image.

 In December, Kenya took a courageous stand against counterfeits in drafting stronger legislation to manage the medicines on its markets and protect the health of its people.

 And Dr. Elias Sory, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, spoke out in an op-ed last week about the human toll of counterfeits and substandard drugs in Ghana and surrounding countries.

 Legislative action and strong voices are critical in raising awareness and defending patients. But real change on the ground requires better monitoring systems, regulatory officials with improved access to resources and training and stronger collaboration between Ministries.

 Approving funding for regulatory strengthening and other such commitments which are not tied to the fight against any single disease may be tough medicine to swallow in times of economic crisis but such funding is very good medicine right now for health systems in Africa.