Behind the polished exteriors of pharmaceutical packaging, a cunning scheme is being played. It’s possible that the treatment you believe would help you is nothing more than a clever hoax. Come along with us as we explore a tale of Malaria that left chunks of the population in hell.

Counterfeit drugs are a growing global enterprise and a major threat to health in both the developed and the developing world. A high proportion of the fakes are drugs used to treat Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases that disproportionately affect the developing world.

A study in Southeast Asia found that between 33% and 53% of Artesunate tablets (drug used to treat Malaria) are counterfeit. These fake drugs are often ineffective and can even be dangerous, containing a wide range of potentially toxic wrong active ingredients.

The Devastating Impact on Sub-Saharan Africa

Malaria is a life-threatening disease that affects millions of people worldwide, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. But, their fight against malaria is significantly halted by fake Artesunate. 120,000 malaria-positive children under the age of five pass away every year in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to Rentschler et al. (2015), by consuming fake Artesunate. 

Challenges in Combating and prevention of Malaria

It must leave our hearts in pieces but combating counterfeit anti-malarials is a complex task due to limited resources. Poor techniques for the detection and identification of fake drugs are of very little help. The prevalence of counterfeit anti-malarial drugs in Southeast Asia is a major impediment to malaria control. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a global campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of counterfeit drugs and to improve the quality of medicines worldwide. The WHO recommends that people only buy medicines from licensed pharmacies and that they check the packaging and labeling of medicines before use.

Despite the efforts of campaigns and awareness programs, it’s important to acknowledge that their reach may be limited, leaving a significant portion of the population still suffering with the effects.

The counterfeit antimalarial drug is a crime against humanity and a major threat to global health. Many innocent lives are at stake due to the lack of a robust monitoring system to track counterfeits.

As consumers, you must make sure that brands are just as committed to safeguarding you by using trustworthy anti-counterfeit solutions. Opting for anti-counterfeit technology within your supply chain offers a more streamlined and proactive strategy. This technology safeguards your brand effectively and simplifies the process by minimizing potential counterfeit threats before they escalate.

You can ensure a promising defense against unauthorized cloning by integrating anti-counterfeit technology.

Sources:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4064812/
2. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0050032
3. https://www3.paho.org/english/dd/pin/Number23_article3.htm
4. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2004.01342.x
5. https://wellcome.org/press-release/fake-antimalarial-drugs-analysis-highlights-threat-global-health
6. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/571716
7. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/ad927008-en/index.html?itemId=%2Fcontent%2Fcomponent%2Fad927008-en#section-d1e4539