The War Against Counterfeit Medicine

Dora Nkem Akunyili

Description

There is a general agreement that piracy; counterfeiting and passing off are unfair. However, there is often surreptitious - or even open - sympathy for, say, those who purchase counterfeit designer fashions or the latest technical gadgets. The pirate is even sometimes represented as a daring evil hero. In this book, Prof. Dora Nkem Akunyili, Director General of Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, presents a unique study of a global phenomenon in which law-breaking and profiteering prevail at the cost of human health and life - and of the ways in which this can be fought by appropriate legislation, regulation and enforcement.

Sujets

• Médecine
• Medicine
• Pharmacology

Informations

• Publié par: Safari Books Ltd
• Date de parution: 29 décembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789788431565
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 54 Mo

Extrait

THE WAR AGAINST COUNTERFEIT MEDICINE

MY STORY

This Electronic Copy is Legally Protected and Cannot be used without the express permission of the publishers

THE WAR AGAINST COUNTERFEIT MEDICINE My Story

DORA NKEM AKUNYILI

Safari Books Ltd Ibadan

Published by Safari Books Ltd Cambridge House 20 Joop Berkhout Crescent Onireke, Ibadan Email: [e-mail] First published, 2010 Revised Edition, 2011 ©Dora Nkem Akunyili Publisher: Chief Joop Berkhout (OON) Deputy Publisher: George Berkhout Editor: Louis Ndimele Cover Design: Ernest Berkhout All rights reserved. This book is copyright and so no part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. ISBN:978-978-8431-01-5

DEDICATION To my beloved sister, Vivian Edemobi whose premature death in 1988 from the use of fake insulin brought the acutely painful message of counterfeit medicine squarely home to

me. To my parents, Chief Paul Young Edemobi and Mrs Grace Udumehie Edemobi, who believed that I would grow up to be great, but never lived to see this day. To my fellow Nigerians who have either died, been maimed, or suffered worsening disease conditions because of the use of counterfeit medicine. Your losses have been my impetus.

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Note:The currency conversions used were correct at time of writing (2008) vi

FOREWORD There is a general agreement that piracy; counterfeiting and passing off are unfair. However, there is often surreptitious – or even open – sympathy for, say, those who purchase counterfeit

designer fashions or the latest technical gadgets. Thepirateis sometimes represented as a dared

evil hero who, like the historical pirate on the high seas, provides a kind of rough justice. In her

book, as in her life, however, Prof. Dora Nkem Akunyili takes on a field in which the damage

done by counterfeiting is unequivocal; in which passing off can kill or disable to satisfy the greed

of the perpetrators and their sponsors. Prof. Akunyili’s commitment to the fight against counterfeit drugs is deeply rooted in her personal experience. Her younger sister, who was diabetic, died after being treated with fake insulin.

Since her appointment as Director General of Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug

Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in 2001, Prof. Akunyili has struggled against inertia and

entrenched vested interests. And she has braved death threats – including an assassination attempt

– in order to transform her experiences into action. Prof. Akunyili stresses the sheer scope of the products involved in counterfeiting, and the variety of their outlets in Nigeria. Apart from counterfeit copies of all the most readily available medicines

and prescription drugs found, for example, in pharmacies, clinics and hospitals, there are also

counterfeit traditional remedies sold locally; fake cosmetics bought in small stores and smart

specialist shops; counterfeit bottled water and drinks sold by supermarkets, street hawkers and

cafés; and counterfeit copies of health products such as baby milk and vitamins. These present an all-pervasive danger to unsuspecting consumers.

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Neither do people realise quite how many people in, for example, airlines, customs services, bus

and rail companies, are involved in the dissemination of such products. No one is spared from

risk, from the wealthiest clients of the Hilton Hotel in Abuja, to the poorest families living in a

single room in the villages. Prof. Akunyili vividly evokes the hold these products have on national

life in Nigeria, and how this is interwoven with the international ramifications of import policy and

practice in a country, which, she estimates, needs some 60 per cent of foreign input in the drugs industry. When Prof. Akunyili took up her post as the head of NAFDAC, no hospital, clinic or pharmacy in

the country could be certain that the drugs they dispensed were genuine. She recalls the time

when NAFDAC registration was given without factory inspection, and when the practice with regard to the grant of import licences tended to undercut deserving local producers, reputable multinational companies and the sale of Nigerian products abroad.

She also underscores the fact that effective enforcement requires considerable resources.

These include trained personnel in various fields, some of them extremely specialised; premises to

establish institutional presence and to cover inspection and the preservation and safeguard of

products; laboratory facilities and equipment; and mobile teams to investigate alarms on an

emergency basis in cooperation with law and order authorities. She charts the expansion and

spread of NAFDAC offices to cover all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. And she

illustrates the need for stamina and determination to overcome setbacks – among which was the

criminal destruction of NAFDAC property – by improvisation and rebuilding.

Scientific and technological progress bring their own forms of abuses and exploitation, along

with their benefits, and methods of prevention and enforcement have to be adjusted to keep

pace. Counterfeiters have been quick to exploit, for example, the speed, convenience and anonymity of the Internet as a medium for expanding the sale of drugs.

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The War Against Counterfeit Medicine: My Storyis a unique study of a global phenomenon –

in which lawbreaking and profiteering prevail at the cost of human health and life – and of the

ways in which this can be fought by appropriate legislation, regulation and enforcement. The

challenges in countering are enormous, not least since such illicit production of food and drugs is

an immensely lucrative business. Prof.Akunyili cites statistics from the World Health Organization,

noting that in 2003, the worldwide sale of counterfeit drugs accounted for US$32 billion, or 10 per cent of all drug sales. Dora Akunyili’s achievements as Director General of NAFDAC are an inspiration to everyone, in every country, who is involved in countering the proliferation of fake food and drugs. Her experiences are a message of hope. They are testimony to the commitment and courage of individuals who serve the institutions, which work to ensure that commercial profitability goes hand in hand with the safety and wellbeing of consumers.

Francis Gurry Director General World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) 2009

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