Illicit, Fake Drugs have Flooded Markets in Africa, Says Zambian Diplomat

Pat Stevens/

Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the African Union, Emmanuel Mwamba, has urged African leaders to implement strong regulatory framework against illicit, fake and counterfeit medicines that have flooded the continent.

Mwamba disclosed this in a statement signed by First Secretary for Press and Tourism at the Zambian Mission in Ethiopia Inutu Mwanza.

Mwamba is also Zambia’s ambassador to Ethiopia said the illicit drugs were costing both lives and huge financial losses to Africa’s economies.

He said the prevalence of fake medicines threatened the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) for good health and well-being.

According to the statement, Mwamba said this while commenting on the latest report released by the African Union titled, ‘Low and Middle Income Countries Worst Affected by Poor Pharmaceutical Governance, Weak Technical Capacity and Poor Supply Chain Management’.

The Report has established that Africa accounts for 42 percent of substandard, counterfeit and falsified drugs in the world.

Mwamba said the creation of the Africa Medicines Agency (AMA) as a continental regulatory body on medicines, will help mitigate the vice of fake, counterfeit and illicit drugs in Africa.