WHO Africa regional office proposal to address fake medical products

Every day, fake medicines and medical products are sold at street corners, in open air markets or on unregulated websites in several countries in the African Region. These poor quality, unsafe medicines and products promote drug resistance and lead to loss of confidence in health professionals, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors and in health systems.

In an effort to protect people’s health, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, has proposed a strategy aimed at strengthening National Medicine Regulatory Authorities (NMRAs) in order to ensure that only safe, good quality and effective medical products are available in countries. The strategy was presented at the annual meeting of Health Ministers from the WHO African Region (the 66th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa) which is taking place in Addis Ababa from 19-23 August 2016.

“Functional regulatory systems ensure that medical products consistently meet international standards and are monitored from clinical evaluation to licensure and use. They play a critical role in protecting people’s health and strengthening health systems to contribute to Universal health Coverage,” said Dr Moeti.