AFP: Africa struggles to stem deadly flood of fake medicine
“…The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that every year some 100,000 people across Africa die from taking ‘falsified or substandard’ medication. The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene estimated in 2015 that 122,000 children under five died due to taking poor quality anti-malaria drugs in sub-Saharan Africa. Weak legislation, poor health care systems, and widespread poverty have encouraged the growth of this parallel — and deadly — market. Since 2013, Africa has made up 42 percent of the fake medicine seized worldwide. The two drugs most likely to be out-of-date or poor, ineffective copies are antibiotics and antimalarials, say experts. … In a bid to tackle the scourge, presidents from seven countries — the Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Niger, Senegal, Togo, and Uganda — meet Friday in Lome to sign an agreement for criminalizing trafficking in fake drugs…” (1/15).