Healthcare News South Africa

Millions of illegal medications seized

PARIS, FRANCE: A crackdown in 16 African countries led to the seizure of more than 82-million doses of illegal or counterfeit drugs, including antibiotics, contraceptives and malaria treatments, the World Customs Organisation (WMO) said on Thursday.

Customs inspectors who searched containers in 16 ports between July 11 and July 20 carried out the operation, named Vice Grips 2.

The biggest hauls were made in Angola, Cameroon, Ghana and Togo.

Most of the illicit drugs were manufactured in East and South Asia or the Middle East.

Illegal medications are a growing problem in Africa, as they may be toxic or fail to have a sufficient quantity of the active ingredient prescribed to combat a disease.

"These alarming results are a reminder of the scale of medicine trafficking in Africa and the danger it presents for the health of African consumers," the WMO said at a press conference in Paris.

Source: AFP via I-NET Bridge

Source: I-Net Bridge

For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

Go to: http://www.inet.co.za
Let's do Biz