Abstract

Increased donated and subsidised medicines for malaria are saving countless lives in Africa, but there is probably increasing theft and diversion of those medicines. The impact of medicine diversion is unknown but potentially dangerous and may bolster criminal networks and increase medicine stock outs (1,2). This study demonstrates...

Since there is no demand for dangerous medicine, international action has a far greater chance of success than the war against narcotics.

Leadership is a wonderful thing, but it is truly found when it is tested, and on that count malaria leadership has failed.

The Global Fund is to be commended for its transparency, but it has failed to act on the information it has gleaned, and continues to allow its funds to be used by governmental distribution systems known to be corrupt.

American Enterprise Institute (AEI) economist  Roger Bate shares his expertise on counterfeit drug networks that pose a growing threat to combating diseases like malaria.

The private sector can and should play an important role in public health, but it remains to be seen whether or not the benefits that have arisen from the AMFm could have been achieved through alternative mechanisms and potentially at lower cost.

It is time for a thorough investigation of drug theft at the Global Fund to ensure that drugs are being used by those intended, rather than encouraging illegal parallel distribution systems, in both recipient nations and nations where products are diverted.

Substandard and counterfeit drugs can be lethal to patients and accelerate drug resistance across at-risk populations.