Counterfeit medicines are killers. At best, those that take them in the mistaken belief that they are genuine do not recover quickly from their illness; at worst, their condition can worsen and they may even die before they get a chance to get the right treatment. From a global perspective, fake medicines like these are also a threat to the progress that has been made in global health, resulting in increasing resistance to bona fide treatments and leading to further illness and disability.
According to the World Health Organisation's definition of what constitutes a counterfeit drug, any medication "which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source" is counterfeit. The fallout from such activities has the potential to undermine the many public health initiatives operating worldwide, including the fight against malaria, as well as eroding patient trust in healthcare systems and providers. As such, a comprehensive strategy to combat fake medicines requires multi-stakeholder collaboration at local and global levels.
Fight the Fakes is a multi-stakeholder campaign to raise awareness about the dangers and impact of fake medicines through a global coordinated approach. The goal of this initiative is to build a network of organisations engaged in fighting fake medicines and to create a movement that raises awareness of the serious dangers posed by the spread of fake medicines, outlines opportunities for action, promotes the implementation of initiatives that fight fake medicines, as well as facilitating coordination and stimulating cooperation.
Malaria Consortium is a key partner in this campaign due to the negative effects that fake or substandard drugs can have in the fight against malaria. According to a 2012 Lancet paper on the poor quality of antimalarial drugs in South East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, as many as 30% of all malaria drugs used around the world are counterfeit. The report warned that such drugs "pose an urgent threat to vulnerable populations and jeopardise progress and investments in combating malaria". Counterfeit drugs have the potential to seriously derail the efforts over the past years to reduce the burden of preventable diseases like malaria and, as such, require immediate action.
The challenge that is being faced by the public health community does not just lie in the fact that counterfeit drugs are a widespread problem, but that awareness of this challenge is low. It's rare to find coverage about how fake medicines can negatively affect daily lives – that of patients and their carers, nurses, pharmacists, and doctors. As part of the effort to change this, Fight the Fakes collects and shares the stories of those who are struggling with the consequences of fake drug distribution. The campaign website serves as a central resource and a vital tool for knowledge-sharing, as well as for organisations and individuals who are looking to support anti-counterfeiting efforts by outlining opportunities for mobilisation and action.
To find out more about Fight the Fakes or to get involved, visit the website, and follow the movement on Twitter.
This content is produced and controlled by Malaria Consortium
