Counterfeit medicines
The problem of counterfeit medicines was first addressed at the international level in 1985 at the Conference of Experts on the Rational Use of Drugs in Nairobi. The meeting recommended that WHO, together with other international and nongovernmental organizations, should study the feasibility of setting up a clearing house to collect data and to inform governments about the nature and extent of counterfeiting.
In 1988 the World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA41.16 which requested the Director-General of WHO to initiate programmes for the prevention and detection of the export, import and smuggling of falsely labelled, counterfeited or substandard pharmaceutical preparations. Given the rapid spread of counterfeit drugs in many national distribution channels, the World Health Assembly in 1994 adopted resolution WHA47.13. This requested the Director-General of WHO to assist Member States in their efforts to ensure that available medicines were of good quality, and in combating the use of counterfeit drugs.
Increasing international trade of pharmaceuticals and sales via the internet has further facilitated the entry of counterfeit products into the supply chain. In 2006 this led to WHO's launch of the International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT*) which has been the main conduit for WHO's work against counterfeits since.
For enquiries please contact: qsm@who.int
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