More needs to be done to tackle counterfeit medicines in Africa, says healthcare strategy exec

During the International Aids Conference in Amsterdam, Dr Iain Barton, healthcare strategy executive at Imperial Logistics, gave a warning that more action is needed against the scourge of fake medicine in Africa.

According to the most recent World Health Organisation (WHO) data, a tenth of all medicine in low and middle-income countries is counterfeit or sub-standard quality. This situation is particularly dreadful in sub-Saharan Africa, an area that makes up 42% of the total amount of fake and sub-standard medicine.

In some countries the proportion of fake medicines can be as high as 60% and as not all instances are reported this problem could be much larger.

Imperial Logistics is a large distributor of medicines in Africa and one of the companies leading the charge against fake medicines. During the Aids Conference, it announced an extensive partnership with the software giant SAP to help it tackle the issue of counterfeit drugs.

Cooperation with SAP

In the fight against counterfeit medicine, technology and education are the two most important weapons, according to Barton. In more recent years, there have been important strides made in the field of verification and authentication using innovative technology that can track medicines at each step of its journey.

In Africa, where medicines may need to be delivered to remote locations there is an enormous logistical and technological challenge.

Through applying SAP technology, Imperial Logistics hopes to be able to further improve the serialisation process and by doing so make it easier to prevent fake or sub-standard medicine to get into the market. Furthermore, it will improve patient safety by increasing the possibilities to collect relevant medical data and make it easier for patients themselves to check whether their medicine is real or fake.

“The threat of counterfeit medicine is big and urgent,” stated Barton. “A large number of organisations are aware of this, but now the time for action has really come. The partnership with SAP that we have announced here in Amsterdam is a perfect example of how extensive collaboration is needed to stop this threat. Therefore, I urge others to take their responsibility and join us in this fight.”

Education remains crucial

An additional consequence of this flow of fake medicine is the crumbling of trust in healthcare and healthcare workers. Especially in more primitive communities this is a big risk, Barton said: “We can be really proud of the enormous progress that has been made in the past decades, for example by the worldwide cooperation in the fight against AIDS. But there is still much work to be done, especially in Africa. At all costs, we must prevent the scourge of counterfeit medicine thwarting our efforts and setting the concerning communities back several years.”

This is why Barton deems it necessary that both civil society and businesses step up to educate local communities and by doing so empowering them to counter the dangers of fake medicine themselves.