African Leaders to Criminalize Counterfeit Medicines

Counterfeit medication has become an increasingly problematic issue in Africa. (Flickr)

Seven African heads of state committed to combating the proliferation of substandard and falsified medical products by signing the Lomé Initiative on January 18, according to Quartz Africa. Congo, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, The Gambia, Togo, and Uganda will enact new legislation criminalizing the trafficking and distribution of fake medicines in all seven countries, with support from global public health partners and NGOs.

Project Syndicate revealed that while counterfeit medicines are a global issue, making up an estimated 10 to 15 percent of the pharmaceutical market, the problem is particularly acute in Africa. The World Health Organization reported that 42 percent of substandard and falsified medicines found between 2013 and 2017 originated in Africa.

Fake pharmaceuticals comprise up to 70 percent of total medications in some countries. A 2015 study by the American Society of Tropical Hygiene estimates that 122,350 children younger than five years old die every year due to substandard antimalarial drugs in sub-Saharan Africa. Counterfeit medicines also play a concerning role in rising antimicrobial resistance, according to France24.

In 2013, the International Institute of Research Against Counterfeit Medicines estimated that investing $1,000 into the trafficking of artificial medicines can yield around $450,000 in profit. With a profit margin 10 to 25 times greater than that of narcotics, counterfeit medicines offer massive rewards that are not counterbalanced by significant legal risk. 

“This abject trafficking generates enormous profits for criminals and terrorists, destabilizing some of the most fragile countries in the world,” said Jean-Yves Ollivier, president of the Brazzaville Foundation, which coordinated the Togo conference, according to the Washington Post.

Despite the recorded loss of human life and the costs imposed on public health systems, counterfeit medications area blind spot in many countries’ criminal justice systems. “Fake medicine has often been regarded as a violation of intellectual property right[s], and not a crime,” said Togo’s president Faure Gnassingbe, according to Quartz Africa.

International Policy Digest reports that the Lomé Initiative entreats leaders to criminalize counterfeit medication and to impose severe penalties on what has been considered a misdemeanor or civil offense. Halting the flow of substandard and falsified medications is challenging as fake medicine is difficult to track and is often indistinguishable from real products, according to France24.

The United Nations found that online and informal markets with minimal oversight also exist for fake medicine due to a lack of regulations and weak legal frameworks concerning medical sales. According to BBC, countries are currently working to develop new technological solutions to tackle the problem, including mobile apps, scratch stickers, barcodes, and other means of helping patients verify and track their medicines.