Joining Forces to Combat Counterfeiting

When counterfeiting kills

In 1988 Dr. Akunyili saw her 21 year old diabetic sister die of hyperglycemia. It was not the diabetes that killed her. It was the fake insulin she had been supplied to treat it. Through recent years, similarly appalling incidents have multiplied. Four children died needlessly on the operating table in one of Nigeria’s top teaching hospitals in 2003 because the adrenaline drips contained little more than water. A survey published by the Nigerian Institute of Pharmaceutical Research indicated that by early 2001 some 80 percent of the drugs distributed in major pharmacies in Lagos were counterfeit. Some contained nothing but chalk or oil; some had been relabeled long after their expiry date; others contained such a dilute quantity of the active ingredient, that they contributed to generating drug-resistant strains of, for example, malaria and tuberculosis.

On her appointment to NAFDAC, Dr. Akunyili threw herself into combating the scourge, investigating reports from all quarters, raiding premises, publicly burning mountains of fake drugs, and putting the suppliers behind bars. She convinced Nigerian banks not to process financial import documents or lend money to projects involving medicines unless these were NAFDAC certificated . With black market profits at stake, she became a target for the fake drugs barons. Unable to bribe her, they tried to kill her. NAFDAC premises were firebombed. As she drove home to her village in December 2003, six gunmen opened fire on her car; a bullet grazed her scalp.

Undeterred, Dr. Akunyili continued her mission – with impressive results. NAFDAC figures for 2005 indicate an 80 percent decrease in counterfeit drugs in circulation since she started. At the Global Congress she urged delegates to "start showing that you can do a lot with a little."

International action

International trade in counterfeit and pirated products now affects nearly every market sector, and was estimated at over Euro 500 billion a year by the First Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting. International cooperation to tackle the problem is more critical than ever. To this end, the 2005 Global Congress, hosted by Interpol and the World Customs Organization (WCO), brought together more than 500 participants from 66 countries. It is the only...

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