Combating Medical Drug Counterfeit in Tanzania: The Role of Technology
Abstract
The infiltration of Counterfeit Drugs (CDs) in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain (PSC) is adversely affecting health sectors in their efforts to provide quality health services to the public. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 30 percent of anti-malaria drugs sold in the developing countries are substandard. Furthermore, the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) estimated that 60 percent of the medicines imported into Tanzania are counterfeits. Several initiatives have been taken in an attempt to curb the selling of CDs. However, the effectiveness of these initiatives remains questionable. There is an urgent need to formulate more effective strategies to secure the PSC by involving all stakeholders. In this regard, technology-based solution could be an effective uptake in mitigating CDs. This study assesses how the technology-based system can secure PSC and enable medical drugs verification in Tanzania. The proven adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), especially mobile technology, could be leveraged to enable the enforcement of laws and regulations and advocate community awareness on medical safety. Keyword – Counterfeit drugs, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical supply chain. 1. Background The growth of the market for Counterfeit Drugs (CDs) continues unabated despite the regulatory efforts to curb it by governments and international organisations such as World Health Organization (WHO) and Interpol. CDs can be defined as drugs that are deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source (WHO, 1999;TFDA, 2003). WHO has discovered an alarming growth rate in CDs market especially in developing nations which has caused alarming rate of ill-health and eventually deaths amongst all level of human development (Agbaraji, 2012). And yet, the problem of CDs remains largely underreported and there has been little information on its prevalence. The few published estimates indicate that CDs prevalence globally ranges from one percent to 50 percent of the global medicine market (WHO, 2005). The developing countries are reported to be mostly 27 -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐COTUL Proceeding
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