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Published August 24, 2022 / Public health

WHO, Togo and the Brazzaville Foundation invite African countries to join the fight against counterfeit medicines

20220823-RC72-SideEvent

23 August, in Lomé (Togo) - Trafficking and consumption of falsified and substandard medicines (FSM) is a scourge that does not spare Africa. During the 72nd session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa, the Brazzaville Foundation co-organised a side event with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Togo and the WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Caption (left to right): Dr Mamessilé Aklah Agba-Assih, Minister Delegate for Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Access to Health Care, Togo; Dr Joseph Kaboré, WHO Director of Management programmes for Africa; Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Chief Executive ; Ms Minata Samaté Cessouma, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, African Union; Dr Daniel Ngamije, Minister of Health, Rwanda; Mr. Richard Amalvy, WHO Director of Health and Humanitarian Affairs, Rwanda. Richard Amalvy, Chief Executive of the Brazzaville Foundation.

Entitled "Fighting medicines that kill in Africa: a collaborative and integrated approach", the meeting focused on coordinating the fight against FSM in Africa, and featured the following panelists: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Chief Executive and Dr Joseph Kaboré, WHO Director of programmes for Africa, Pr Moustafa Mijiyawa, Minister of Health of the Togolese Republic, and his Rwandan counterpart, Dr Daniel Ngamije, Ms Minata Samaté Cessouma, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development at the African Union, Dr Mamessilé Aklah Agba-Assih, Togo's Minister Delegate for Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Access to Health Care, and Mr. Richard Amalvy, Minister of Health of the Republic of Togo, Richard Amalvy, Chief Executive of the Brazzaville Foundation.

 

Watch a replay of the event below:

A dynamic of mutualisation and cooperation

This exchange was part of a new dynamic in Africa regarding access to quality and affordable medicines. First, through the operationalisation of theAfrican Medicines Agency (AMA) to be based in Rwanda.

 

At the end of the year, a pilot project was launched in Togo to set up a national plan to combat FSM. This project is part of the Lomé Initiative (IDL), launched at a global summit organised by Brazzaville Foundation in Togo in 2020, resulting in the Lomé Declaration signed by six African states[1].

 

Prof. Moustafa Mijiyawa, Togo's Minister of Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Access to Health Care, and IDL's political coordinator, reminded us of the systemic nature of trafficking of FSM : "Everyone agrees that national action is ineffective. Everyone agrees that a single sector within a country cannot deal with it. "

 

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Chief Executive of the WHO, also present at the Lomé summit in January 2020, named the three factors that favor the proliferation of FSM in Africa: " Lack of access to quality and affordable medicines, [...] lack of good governance, [...] and lack of technical capacity. " He also emphasized political commitment as the driving force behind solving the FSM problem. " If there is real commitment, there will be information sharing, financial investment, mobilisation international support and, above all, capacity building. "

The pharmaceutical supply chain

Corrupting agents are multiplying throughout the supply chain. To secure the entire drug distribution circuit in Togo, the Centrale d'Achat de Médicaments Essentiels Génériques du Togo (CAMEG-TOGO) acts on the pharmaceutical supply chain. Dr Mamessilé Agba-Assih, Director of CAMEG-TOGO and Minister Delegate to the Togolese Minister of Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Access to Health Care, acknowledges the difficulty of identifying reliable suppliers. Through these regional initiatives, we need to set up supply systems that we can control from end to end. This means centralizing purchasing at regional level to benefit from the volume effect.

 

In addition, 70% of medicines consumed in Africa are imported. To reduce this dependence and build a resilient healthcare system, the aim is to coordinate local drug production and use the 400 existing pharmaceutical factories in Africa.

Levers for action to organize control

The two levers identified are interministerial action supported by appropriate legislation, and the need for coordinated action by public authorities, the private sector and civil society. For Dr Mamessilé Agba-Assih, this presupposes better communication: "There is a dialogue to be set up between certain administrations, notably customs and the police [...] and an inter-country dialogue, via information sharing." She also referred to the courage required, in addition to the political will already expressed by IDL promoters.

Strengthening andharmonisation the regulatory framework

Richard Amalvy, Chief Executive of the Brazzaville Foundation and moderator of the event, presented the African Union Model Law on the Regulation of Medical Products. One of the recommendations of this law is the creation of a national drug regulatory authority. At the continental level, this is the expected role of the AAM. Today, 23 countries have signed the treaty establishing the AAM. According to Ms. Minata Samaté Cessouma, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development at the African Union, the harmonisation of member states' legislation on the basis of the AU model law is the sine qua non for the success of the AAM.