Africa: making the case against counterfeit drugs at LEEM-sponsored meeting

The fight against fake and counterfeit medicines requires a united public-private front to overcome people's resistance to health warnings and to dismantle increasingly sophisticated trafficking networks, medical professionals said at a meeting in the Togolese capital Lome, reports the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN).

The counterfeit medicines industry thrives because the products sell well, despite health warnings, sub-Saharan Africa health officials said at a January 27-28 meeting aimed at reinforcing public and private efforts against fake drugs organized by LEEM, a trade body representing French pharmaceutical companies, which brought together government health officials from francophone African countries.

"Some people scoff at those who advise against street medicines," Sophie Bipolo, national pharmaceutical director in Gabon, told IRIN. "People say we denounce those medicines because we are in competition with them, but unfortunately people do not realize the dangers these products pose to their health," she added.