Trafficking in counterfeit medicines in Africa has increased, especially since the 1980s. On 17 and 18 February 2020, the Lomé Declaration obliged seven countries on the continent to impose criminal sanctions to criminalize trafficking in human beings for substandard and counterfeit medicines. Last week, this topic was at the center of an online debate, initiated by the associations Les Afriques vous parle and the African Business Academy.
Two hundred billion dollars is the estimate of what is reported to human trafficking through the circulation of counterfeit drugs in the world … A figure that could reach $ 500 billion in a few years if nothing is done.
What are we talking about when we talk about fake drugs? “We must see counterfeit medical products, that is, medicines, vaccines, diagnostic products or medical devices whose identity, origin or composition is falsely represented, knowingly or fraudulently,” explains Innocent Koundé Kpéto, President of the National Order of Pharmacists of Togo. “We will have inferior drugs; these are products that can be approved this time but do not meet their quality criteria and scientific specifications. This is due to negligence, human error, lack of resources or fraudulent activity as well.”
For example, the pharmaceutical industry, which has all the official licenses, but which, in order to reduce their production costs, uses materials without guarantee of their quality. And it is these drugs that drive the illegal markets. One of the ways to reduce the traffic of substandard and counterfeit medicines in Africa is for the countries on the continent to develop the pharmaceutical industry.
“It is imperative that Africans control what they consume,” said Elisabeth Kacou, chair of the board of the Pharmivoire Nouvelle. “It would help put an end to counterfeiting and drug trafficking. Because the fact that it produces on-site, especially important drugs, as in a few blows can limit fraudulent drug imports. ”
Patents protect drugs for 20 to 25 years. After this protection, the molecules fall in general and anyone can make generics. 10 to 15% of these counterfeit drugs are on the world market according to the WHO, a figure rising to 40 or even 60% in low-income countries, most of which are in Africa. And these low-quality or counterfeit drugs cause one million deaths a year worldwide.
A traffic that spreads due to a lack of adequate control. With today a difficult and cumbersome traceability process based on items that can easily be falsified. Digitization can greatly facilitate this process with blockchain. “It would be to trace the drug that would have been produced abroad or in Africa,” explains commercial lawyer Stéphane Brabant. The drug would be listed, checked by experts. So all traceability of this drug can be done. ”
In addition to the deaths caused by counterfeit drugs, the money resulting from this human trafficking feeds other “hostages”, especially terrorism.
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