UNIVERSITY STUDY
Study reveals fake medicines are rife in Africa
SA’s problem is relatively small, say pharmacists, after analysing 96 previous studies of falsified and substandard medicines
In Southern Africa‚ Malawi has the most medicines commonly sold in substandard or falsified condition‚ according to pharmacists from the University of North Carolina. SA’s problem is relatively small‚ they reported on Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open‚ after analysing 96 previous studies of falsified and substandard medicines in 63 low-income and middle-income countries. In much of the developing world‚ more than 13% of essential medicines that satisfy people’s priority health-care needs are problematic‚ and this rises to almost 19% in African countries. Falsified medicines fraudulently misrepresent their identity‚ composition or source. Substandard medicines are genuine but fail to meet quality standards or specifications for a variety of reasons including poor manufacturing‚ shipping or storage conditions‚ or because the drug is sold beyond its expiry date. Sachiko Ozawa‚ an associate professor at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy‚ said her team found antimalarials and antibio...
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