#The magnitude of this problem, and its damage to both lives and to economies, is immense.
#WHO estimates that more than one in ten medicines in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified, estimate that substandard or falsified antibiotics to treat pneumonia in children under five-years-old result in anywhere from 72,000 to 169,00 deaths each year.
#Similarly, bad antimalarial(s) are estimated to lead to anywhere from 31,000 to 116,000 deaths in sub-Saharan Africa each year.
#Substandard and falsified medical products can be found in illegal street markets, via unregulated websites, and even in pharmacies, clinics and hospitals.
#The WHO Global surveillance and monitoring system, which has been in place since 2013, has issued more than 70 global alerts to date.
Reasons for the proliferation of substandard and falsified medicines:
First, a lack of access to affordable efficacious and safe medicines forces desperate people to buy medicines from unreliable sources.
Second, a lack of good governance allows corruption to penetrate health systems and leaves loopholes for criminal groups to exploit.
Third, a lack of technical capacity undermines the integrity of supply chains and limits the ability of countries to safeguard the health of their people.
Our biggest challenge is ensuring people have access to high-quality, affordable medicines.
After all, substandard and falsified medical products only exist because access to quality and affordable medicines does not.
#By taking focused, concerted action, we can remove the market opportunity for substandard and falsified medicines. The new African Medicines Agency, which will be hosted in Rwanda, will play a critical role in this effort.
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