Ernest Kissiedu
6 November 2009
Dr. Andrew Ofori, Director of Health at the Human Health Development Center in Accra has appealed to the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) and the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) to check the sale of fake drugs on the Ghanaian market.
"The issue of many fake drugs being sold on the market today has led to serious health risks and complications which require a concerted effort by all to curb it," he said. Speaking to The Mail in Accra, Dr. Ofori said people sell some of these drugs in passenger buses whilst others sell them moving from one house to another.
"Though some of these drugs are effective, others pose a health threat to the individual who might buy them because many of these drugs might have been smuggled into the country or expired as well."
Despite the numerous warnings issued by the FDB and GSB on the sale of fake drugs in Ghana some five months ago, he said, people continue to import uncertified drugs into the country. "To date, people continue to sell some of these drugs on the Ghanaian market."He said to help improve upon the medical delivery system in Ghana, all pharmacists and other health professionals in the country must be alert to the current potential threats to the welfare and safety of their patients.
This, he said, would help reduce any risk and properly manage all forms of disasters and crisis that could endanger the lives of people. Dr. Ofori said, "As consumers, I know you have lots of choices for buying prescription drugs these days, but as you search for the best price or most convenient, be careful about the source of your medications. Counterfeit drugs are on the rise. Getting fooled by one could mean throwing your money away on ineffective drugs, or even worse, getting sick by taking drugs that aren't what they supposed to be."
He said some of the fake drugs do not contain the same active ingredients as the original ones. "Others are even falsely sold under brand names and because the packaging may not provide accurate information about the ingredients or who made the drug, you can't be certain what you're buying," Dr. Ofori advised people to be wary of the kind of drugs they buy since fake drugs can be very harmful. "If you take counterfeit drugs, you are at risk of serious health problems, including unexplained side effects or allergic reactions. And your health could worsen if the drug you're taking is ineffective."
Miss Bernice Nyarko, a Community Health Nurse at the Assin-Anyinabrim in the Central Region said Ghanaians spend millions of cedis treating complications caused by usage of drugs from peddlers.
"Drug peddling has a very negative impact on our economy both directly and indirectly and it would continue if the necessary measures aren't taken early to address the situation," she said. She said these drug peddlers lack adequate knowledge on the medicines they sell and therefore end up providing wrong doses which give side-effects leading to various complications.
Miss Nyarko said these drug peddlers cannot differentiate between original drugs from counterfeit ones since most of their products are purchased from unapproved sources. She said most of the drugs handled by peddlers are without company names, registration, and location and do not have expiry dates, thereby exposing many innocent people to danger.
"Many of these drugs have not been certified by the FDB and others are also wrongly labeled," she said. Miss Nyarko called on the public to join the fight against drug peddling to help reduce the devastating effect on the Ghanaian consumer.
The passage of the Food and Drugs Law (PNDC LAW 305B) and the establishment the FDB were aimed at regulating the manufacture and distribution of drugs in the country. The Pharmacy Act (Act 489) also regulates the practice of the pharmacy profession. Even though these two regulatory bodies have made several attempts to fight drug peddling in the country, such efforts have been unsuccessful.
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