A parallel market as lucrative as it is dangerous. In Côte d’Ivoire, the traffic in fake drugs is on the verge of overtaking that of narcotics. Despite warnings from health professionals and the powerful slogan “drugs on the streets are death on the streets”, patients are increasingly turning to these illegal products, at lower costs.
From October 12, 2017, the first edition of “Pharmafrica EXPO 2017” will be held, an African trade fair for pharmacists. The opportunity to come back to the dangerousness of these counterfeits. “We must find a parade against fake drugs through the establishment of universal medical coverage,” Charles Boguifo, president of the Order of Pharmacists of Côte d’Ivoire, told AFP.
Nearly one in three counterfeit drugs in Africa
Last May, 40 tons of fake medicines were seized by the Ivorian authorities in Adjamé, a popular district of Abidjan. The street drug market would entail each year “a loss of 40 to 50 billion CFA francs (76 million euros) including 5 billion intended for the State”, explains Parfait Kouassi, former president of the order of pharmacists of Ivory Coast, still at AFP.
In Africa, nearly one in three drugs is illegal or counterfeit, making it the region most affected by this scourge in the world. This market is controlled by organized crime. Very lucrative (the turnover is estimated at around 85 billion dollars worldwide), it is less risky than drug trafficking, the penalties being less severe and border controls quite weak.
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