Iraqi Health Ministry Closes Two “Fake Pharmacies” in Al-Sadr City

Text of report by Iraqi Media Network weekly newspaper Al-Sabah on 12 August

["The Health Ministry closes two pharmacies in A-Sadr city and seizes their medicines. Dozens of fake pharmacies detected," Al- Sabah headline]

The Health Ministry’s Department for Private Sector Institutions [DPSI], affiliated with the ministry’s inspector general, closed two fake pharmacies in Al-Sadr city and seized large amounts of medicines yesterday [ 11 August]. The step comes in response to the ministry’s national plan to control medicine sale in the private sector.

Speaking to Al-Sabah, Health Ministry’s Inspector General Adil Muhsin Abdallah said: The DPSI inspection teams, together with the Iraqi Army, closed two fake pharmacies in Al-Sadr city in Baghdad yesterday and confiscated their medicines. This is part of the ministry’s plan to combat fake pharmacies and to implement the recommendations of the national project aiming to control the sale of medicines in the private sector. Such pharmacies are the main source of illegally-imported medicines that come from bad origins.

He added that the people running those pharmacies were arrested and are currently being interrogated to identify their suppliers. Stressing that the ministry will act to punish fake drug stores as soon as possible, he added that the inspector general’s office has already detected dozens of fake pharmacies in Al-Sadr city. He noted that the security circumstances prevented taking any action against those pharmacies, and went on to say that the office decided to seek the help of the Iraqi Army as it can eliminate the phenomenon more efficiently.

Originally published by Al-Sabah, Baghdad, in Arabic 12 Aug 08.

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