Africa; Drugs; Falsified; Medical products; Medicines; Pharmacovigilance; Regulation; Substandard; Surveillance; Pharmacy; Health Policy
Abstract :
[en] Assuring the quality of medical products manufactured, imported or distributed in francophone sub-Saharan Africa remains a challenge, despite positive signals like the growing engagement in the benchmarking of regulatory authorities and -particularly- in the establishment of the African Medicines Agency. In this short report, we describe the existing activities to prevent, detect and respond to substandard and falsified products (SF) in this region, either through African multilateral organizations and initiatives led by the World Health Organization, or through the contribution of other stakeholders, such as local universities and procurement agencies. We underline that these emerging local stakeholders may play a pivotal role to guide and inform the national regulatory authorities about the prevalence and patterns of SF medical products, complementing the market surveillance and control, and building awareness of the importance of pharmaceutical quality assurance for public health.
Research Center/Unit :
CIRM - Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur le Médicament - ULiège
Disciplines :
Pharmacy, pharmacology & toxicology
Author, co-author :
Macé, Cécile; Independent Consultant, Nantes, France
Nikiema, Jean-Baptiste; World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo
Sarr, Omar Serigne; University of Dakar Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal ; Senegalese Drug Regulatory Agency, Dakar, Senegal
Ciza Hamuli, Patient; Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, LACOMEDA, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Marini Djang'Eing'A, Roland ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de pharmacie > Chimie analytique ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Unités de recherche interfacultaires > Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur le Médicament (CIRM) ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences biomédicales et précliniques
Neci, Richard Cizungu; Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network (EPN), Nairobi, Kenya
Bourdillon Esteve, Pernette; Incidents and Substandard/Falsified Medical Products Team, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
Ravinetto, Raffaella ; Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium. rravinetto@itg.be ; School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa. rravinetto@itg.be
Language :
English
Title :
The response to substandard and falsified medical products in francophone sub-Saharan African countries: weaknesses and opportunities.
FPS DGD - Federal Public Service. Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid
Funding text :
The organisation and reporting of the online workshop “Où en sommes-nous dans la lutte contre les médicaments de qualité inférieure et falsifiés dans les pays d’Afrique francophone ? Comment mobiliser les gouvernements et les acteurs nationaux autour de cette question importante ?” that inspired this short report was made possible thanks to the support provided by Because Health, via the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD) through the 2022–2026 framework agreement with the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium.
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