Want a Paracetamol? Find out why it Could be Dangerous with Palki Sharma

Bad news! India is a major manufacturer of medications, vaccines etc., but substandard quality seems to remain a serious issue.

A Scourge of Counterfeit Medicines in Africa. Really!

This bad or similar situations regarding medications in Africa have been reported many times over the past several decades! Most likely, the claims are exaggerated as usual!

The article claims 20% of medications on the market are substandard or fake. What about the remaining 80%!

This research article also uses an interesting if not dubious definition: "Substandard, falsified, and unregistered [???] medicines"

"A fifth of medicines on the market in Africa could be substandard or fake, per a major review by Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar University researchers—potentially contributing to ~500,000 deaths a year in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimate.

Why? Inefficient, fragmented pharma supply chains that undermine quality and fuel exploitative practices, per Claudia Martínez, the head of research at the Access to Medicine Foundation. ..."

From the abstract:

"Background: Substandard, falsified, unlicensed, and unregistered medicines pose significant risks to public health in developed and developing countries. This systematic review provides an overview of the prevalence of substandard, falsified, unlicensed, and unregistered medicine and its associated factors in Africa.

Methods: Articles published from April 2014 to March 2024 were searched in Google Scholar, Science Direct, PubMed, MEDLINE, and Embase. The search strategy focused on open-access articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and studies exclusively conducted in African countries. The quality of the studies was assessed according to the Medicine Quality Assessment Reporting Guidelines (MEDQUARG). This systematic review was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA).

Results: Of the 27 studies, 26 had good methodological quality after a quality assessment. Of the 7508 medicine samples, 1639 failed at least one quality test and were confirmed to be substandard/falsified medicines. The overall estimated prevalence of substandard/falsified medicines in Africa was 22.6% (1718/7592). The average prevalence of unregistered medicines was 34.6% (108/312). Antibiotics, antimalarial, and antihypertensive medicines accounted for 44.6% (712/1596), 15.6% (530/3530), 16.3% (249/1530), and 16.3% (249/1530), respectively. Approximately 60.7% (91/150) were antihelmintic and antiprotozoal medicines. Poor market regulatory permission, Free trade zones, poor registration, high demand, and poor importation standards contribute to the prevalence of these problems.

Conclusion/recommendations: Substandard, falsified, and unregistered medicines are highly prevalent in Africa, and attention has not been paid to the problem [???]. Antibiotics, antimalarial, anthelmintic, and antiprotozoal are the most commonly reported substandard, falsified, and unregistered medicines. A consistent supply of high-quality products, enhancement of registration, market regulatory permission, and importation standards are essential to counter the problems in Africa. Preventing these problems is the primary duty of every responsible nation to save lives."

Global Health NOW: Polio Vaccination Reaching Young Gazans; Safety Violations at Plant Linked to Listeria Outbreak; and Your August Recap

Prevalence of substandard, falsified, unlicensed and unregistered medicine and its associated factors in Africa: a systematic review (open access)

Behörde warnt vor gefälschtem Diabetes-Medikament im Umlauf

Das sind ganz niederträchtige Verbrechen!

Abnehmspritzen: Behörde warnt vor gefälschtem Diabetes-Medikament Ozempic wurde als Wundermittel gegen Diabetes und Übergewicht gefeiert. Nun sind gefälschte Packungen in den legalen Handel geraten, warnen Behörden.

Large number of counterfeit pills now found in pharmacies across Mexico some laced with fentanyl or methamphetamine

Is the President of Mexico AMLO (Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in office since December 2018) doing anything about it! This article does not mention much about it.

It appears this severe issue has been well known at least since 2019.

Caveat: I did not read the entire, long article!

It seems it is not quite clear whether this article or other news reports before carefully distinguish between pharmacies or stores serving the local population or foreign tourists.

It seems also not quite clear to what extent these counterfeit pills are rather harmless, but not effective or to what extent they are copycats of actual, effective drugs etc.

Counterfeit pills now found in pharmacies across Mexico - Los Angeles Times

Mr. President and former head of government of Mexico City what is going on?