Report – Availability, accessibility, quality: Three challenges for medicines in Africa

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 10% of medicines circulating around the world are counterfeit. While this phenomenon can reach 30% of medicines circulating in Africa, the Covid-19 health crisis has confirmed the weaknesses in health systems in most African countries in terms of the availability, accessibility and quality of medicines, which are vital for effective patient treatment.

This phenomenon is a major public health issue – complications of diseases, deaths, chemoresistance, etc. –, which is coupled with economic, regulatory and security issues: the fragmentation of supply chains, the lack of traceability of marketed medicines, the lack of quality control facilities for products and the limits of the repressive measures in place are all obstacles to effectively fighting against counterfeit or substandard medicines in Africa. These health, security and legal threats undermine health systems and prevent an effective control of diseases.

In view of this fact, how can African countries be assisted with the implementation of a comprehensive approach taking into account the health, legal and safety aspects of the production, distribution and consumption of medicines?

Thematic report

• Caroline Damour, public health pharmacist: “The focus must go beyond the availability of medicines” (1/3)

• Amélie Robine, lawyer: “The MEDISAFE project offers a comprehensive approach to combating counterfeit medicines” (2/3)

• MEDTIC project: New technologies against counterfeit medicines in Côte d’Ivoire (3/3)

Procurement and Supply Management of Health Products – Cross-cutting Evaluation of the Projects of L’Initiative (download here)	Private Sector & Development magazine (PROPARCO) – Improving the Quality and Accessibility of African Medicine (download here)