Ghanaians have been urged to exercise their civic responsibility by buying drugs at the right places to avoid more deadly incidents by traders in counterfeit products.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), estimates that more than 30% of drugs could lead to the horrid healthcare crises that fake drugs often unleash. The rate of fake drugs is between 10 to 30% in developing countries.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drug Board (FDB), Rev. Jonathan Martey expressed worry that Ghana is experiencing the influx of fake products, particularly those perceived to be sexual enhancement drugs which are mostly in languages people cannot read.
Speaking at a stakeholder forum on Safe Medicines in Accra, he noted that the situation poses a real threat to public health that needs massive campaign against it.
Rev. Martey deduced that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) will improve access to quality medicine in remote villages.
He explained that with the NHIS, procurement is also controlled and the FDB is part of a committee that will provide the necessary information about companies that meet the requirement to supply medicines, saying “The future is not bleak. A lot is being done to ensure that Ghanaians get better access to safe medicines.”
Rev. Martey stated the need for multi-sectoral approach to fight counterfeiting, emphasising the important role of the media and the need for health professionals, manufacturers and importers to uphold the trust Ghanaians have in them.
Mr. Scott LaGanga, the Executive Director of the Partnership for Safe Medicines (OSM), a coalition of organisations and individuals dedicated to protecting consumers from counterfeit medicines said in today’s global environment, it does not matter if one lives in America, Europe, Asia or Africa, everyone is at risk from counterfeit drugs.
“Counterfeit drug is a global public health hazard that requires an international solution. All across the world we are seeing more incidents of counterfeiting involving more types of drugs in more countries.”
He stressed that regions must unify in the fight against counterfeit drugs as unscrupulous counterfeiters do not hesitate to use foreign and even toxic materials in their products.
Meanwhile, Ghana is exploring ways to enhance the adoption of new concepts of regulating drugs to enhance health service delivery. Ghanaians could be able to successfully use SMS text messages to authenticate drugs by the end of this year.
The technology trail initiative by mPedigree, early this year afforded Ghanaian consumers in Accra and Kumasi the chance to pick the code on a drug, (Efpack Junior Products ) send SMS to 1393 to any of the networks and had a response instantly that “quality is assured or it is a genuine product”.
Also, Ghana is a pilot country for the roll-out of Medical Transparency Alliance (MeTA) programme with the objective to relieve consumers of the burden of drug affordability, accessibility and quality.
Further, the National Health Insurance Authority has identified a number of ICT interventions such as diagnostic groups modeling, as critical in its quest to deliver.
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