Counterfeit Drugs Pose Threat to Zimbabwe

Counterfeit drugs pose threat to Zimbabwe

HARARE, July 15 (Xinhua) — The fight against use of counterfeit drugs has been compounded by shortage of drugs and the high cost of health services, which eroded gains made in the public health sector of Zimbabwe, an official said Friday.

Speaking at a belated commemoration of International Nurses Day, with the theme of “Nurses for patients: targeting counterfeit and substandard drugs,” the Minister of Heath and Child Welfare, David Parirenyatwa said the HIV/AIDS pandemic had worsened the problem.

“The challenge from counterfeit medicines is a growing problem which, if not curbed, will see all our gains in the public health sector and pharmacology eroded,” the minister said.

“This problem is further compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic where everybody seeks instant remedy.”

Counterfeits, he said, made up more than 10 percent of the global medicines available in the market and were found in both developed and developing nations.

To counter the problem, the government had established an effective control body in the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe, which ensured that the appropriate medicines were sold by the right people in the right places.

Consumers were also an important part in the bid to counter the manufacture, sale and consumption of fake drugs, the minister said.

International Nurses Day is commemorated on May 12 every year. This year’s campaign aims to increase awareness of the existence of counterfeit medicines, provide the tools to identify them and to encourage nurses and other health professionals to lobby the government and regulatory authorities to pay increased attention to the existence of such drugs.