By Wezzie Gausi:
The Pharmacy and Medicines Regulatory Authority (PMRA) has trashed research findings by Bahir Dar University, which indicated that Malawi has the highest proportion of substandard and falsified medicines in Africa.
This follows media reports that indicated that Malawi had the highest proportion of substandard and falsified medicines in Africa.
Global media attributed such findings to Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar University.
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Estimates which the United Nations (UN) Office on Drugs and Crime published last year put the human cost of falsified and substandard medicines at 500,000 deaths a year in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Speaking at a press briefing held in Lilongwe yesterday, PMRA Director General Mphatso Kawaye said the study which the article quoted only examined the quality of anti-malaria medicines which were LA, Quinine, SP, DHA/SP, DHA/Pp, ATS/SmP and ATS/SP.
He said based on the design of the 2015 Malawi study, the samples were drawn from retail pharmacies, private clinics and medicine stores.
“The study did not include samples from the government health facilities which constitute the largest proportion of anti-malarial medicines consumed in the country and whose medicine brands are not found in the private sector.
“Therefore, this study cannot be used to generalise the quality of all anti-malarial medicines used in the country,” Kawaye said.
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Ministry of Health Director of Health Services Godfrey Kadewele said it was necessary for the country to promote frequent research and regulations on medicines.
“We, as a ministry, conduct research on our medicines through colleges and other reliable partners. We, as a country, also test medicines that come into the country before use,” Kadewele said.
Meanwhile, quality health advocate Maziko Matemba has lauded the government machinery for clarifying issues on the matter.
“To my knowledge, most medicines and vaccines are procured from global north markets, which guarantee their effectiveness and quality. Malawi has a medical regulatory authority that regularly checks all medicines received,” Matemba said.
A previous study by the World Health Organisation found that an estimated one in 10 medical products in developing countries were substandard or falsified, with 42 percent of reports coming from Africa, 21 percent from the Americas and 21 percent from Europe.
