Research Reveals One-Fifth of Medicines in Africa May Be Substandard or Fake

A new major research project has uncovered alarming evidence that up to 20% of medicines in Africa could be substandard or counterfeit. This troubling finding raises serious concerns about the safety and effectiveness of treatments across the continent.

The study, conducted by researchers from Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia, analyzed 27 separate studies. Out of 7,508 medicine samples reviewed, 1,639 were found to be substandard or falsified, failing at least one quality test.

Why does this matter?

Claudia Martínez, head of research at the Access to Medicine Foundation, an Amsterdam-based non-profit organization, emphasized the severity of the issue. “If patients are getting medicines that are substandard or outright fake, it can result in their treatment failing or even preventable deaths,” she said, as per a report from The Guardian.

Last year, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that falsified and substandard medicines could cause up to 500,000 deaths annually in sub-Saharan Africa.

Here is what you need to know

The term “substandard medicines” refers to drugs that are authorized but do not meet required quality standards, while “falsified medicines” are those that intentionally misrepresent their identity, composition, or origin.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson, antibiotics and antimalarial drugs are the most commonly falsified medicines in Africa. Substandard or counterfeit antibiotics may contain incorrect dosages or the wrong ingredients, leading to ineffective treatments and the persistence of resistant strains. The WHO noted that these issues likely contribute to increasing antimicrobial resistance, a growing global health threat.

The findings highlight a critical need for improved quality control and regulatory measures to ensure that medicines distributed in Africa are safe and effective, aiming to prevent the serious health consequences associated with counterfeit and substandard drugs.