Illicit Sale Of Medication: Disturbing Phenomenon

There is no town or village that one cannot find a shop or makeshift stand where illicit medication is sold. In the past decades, the trade has skyrocketed to the extent that many legal traders fear that they will gradually go out of business. Apart from the traditional supply routes, the rapid expansion of this trade can also be attributed to globalization and e-commerce. These two factors have increased the complexity of the supply chain by providing numerous entry points of illegal medical products.
In Cameroon, the paradox is that despite the putting in place of legal barriers, a greater part of the illicit sales is carried out in the heart of the major administrative towns. The sales points are not only known to the retailers and consumers, but by administrative authorities who are supposed to stamp out the phenomenon. For many years, the Minister of Public Service has sounded the alarm bell, but the trade continues to prosper. On July 10, 2019, the Minister, Manaouda Malachie, announced the creation of a “brigade tasked with the systematic seizure and destruction of these medicines and products”. On July 16, the Minister launched a campaign with the slogan “Street medicine kills” after meeting the street vendors in Yaounde. Even though the campaign led to the interception, seizure and destruction of about 665,000 tons of illegal pharmaceutical products worth FCFA 170 billion in 2019, alone according to the gendarmerie, the number of roadside vendors has kept rising. The operation that led to the seizure of large quantities of medication are just a few among the numerous efforts carried out in Cameroon on a daily basis especially, in the Littoral, West and Centre Regions.
The most worrying issue about this trade is not the billions of Francs that the government is losing, but the danger involved in the illicit business. Apart from being of doubtful quality, contraband and expired, medication can potentially lead to very dangerous health problems which can be difficult to treat. They are not properly preserved and are exposed to sunlight for days and even months. In some cases, the traders do replace the content and alter the formula thereby risking lives. It is true some do argue they do buy illicit medication because of their low financial income. “I do not have enough money that would enable me buy drugs from recognized pharmacies. I find drugs there rather too expensive, that is why I buy drugs on the street,” a consumer underscored. Another roadside drug buyer argues, “I prefer street drugs because they are cheap and available. These drugs are sometimes sold near hospitals and we know that they are smuggled out of the hospital pharmacy; that is why I do not believe in all the talk that street drugs are dangerous.” But this assertion is not shared by many who say, they prefer to go for consultation in the hospital and be tested, when necessary, rather than buy drugs without knowing the sickness they are suffering from. Some of them reiterate that they have once been victims after buying expired and fake medications on the streets. “Sometimes, paracetamol, which is an over-the-counter drug, is like dried cassava,” they lamented.
Whatever might be their arguments, consumers should know that, the consequences of consuming roadside medication are enormous. To avoid complications, patients should go to the hospital for prescription and buy medication from recognized pharmacies. The vendors we call “docta”, meaning “doctor” on the streets are not our friends. They prescribe medicines for the kin, even without seeing the patient. People relate symptoms and their medicine is ready. The situation is too alarming that some experts say Cameroon is sitting on a health time bomb. If nothing is done and very fast, the conseq...