Concord Times (Freetown)
Alasan Conteh
2 June 2009
The porosity of border points with Sierra Leone and Guinea is primarily responsible for the deluge of fake drugs in Liberia, an official of the ministry of health and social welfare told the Analyst in Monrovia.
Chief Pharmacist, Rev. Tijli Tarty Tyee, said Liberia's border points were vulnerable to individuals who are in the habit of bringing fake drugs into the country using neighboring countries in the Mano River union basin.
Although the President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-led government was making efforts to protect ports of entry, he said border points with neighboring countries were making things difficult to control, thus impeding efforts to declare Liberia fake drugs free.
He said since they took over the Unity Party-led administration, there have been great changes in the pharmaceutical sector, noting that "currently the government through the help of its partner, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has established the first laboratory for the testing of medicines brought into the country."
Rev. Tyee's statement came in the wake of a pronouncement by the World Health Organization (WHO) that over 77,000 persons died annually from fake drugs.
75% of the drugs are said to have come from India, while 25% comes from the fastest growing economy in the world.
According to him, the National Drugs Services (NDS) in collaboration with the International Drugs services (IDS) and the ministry of health has dispatched 11 pharmacists throughout the country with assignments at medical institutions and with oversight responsibility to monitor activity of drugs brought into the counties.
The Liberian pharmacist said out of 11 trained pharmacists assigned in various counties, two were in six south-eastern counties while the rest were in other counties.
He indicated that the Pharmacy Board of Liberia would inspect every consignment of drugs that comes into the country, adding "BIVAC helps to carry out inspection of drugs that come into the country. The drugs are listed and tested."
At the same time, Liberia was in close contact with Ghana to carry out studies on any questionable drugs brought into the country.
According to him, there were several problems facing his division including shortage of trained pharmacists and low budgetary support.
"We requested for US$10 million but only US$2 million was given. But our partners, including UNDP and the Irish government, provided medicines valued at US$1 million," he said.
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