Bringing substandard anti-malarials to the world's attention

On the back of last week's PLoS study which revealed the horrifying extent to which sub-standard anti-malarial drugs are being manufactured in Africa, friends of the CFD have had a number of articles in newspapers around the world discussing the issue. 

In particular, these articles flag up the concern that the procurement policies of multilateral funding bodies such as the Global Fund actively encourage the production of these drugs.

In today's Sowetan, Africa Fighting Malaria's Jasson Urbach discusses steps that could be taken to address the problem, including removing market-distorting taxes and tariffs on imported medicines.

In Canada's Globe and Mail, Roger Bate calls on the Global Fund to change its policies to stop these drugs being purchased in Africa.

And Jeremiah Norris, in India's Daily Pioneer, suggests that the WHO's anti-counterfeiting IMPACT initiative should be widened to include substandard medicines, and that it should commission studies to determine the true rates of drug resistance in developing countries.

As yet, we only have a small idea of the extent to which substandard drugs have penetrated the African supply chain. Much more research needs to be done. But the auguries are not good.