The Malaria Parasites - Journeyman | Tuppashare Tuppershare Tupper Share Tupashare Tupa
This is the untold story of how the global racket in fake drugs turned an easily curable disease into Africa’s biggest child killer. According to leading scientists, millions of children could have been saved if the pharmaceutical industry and World Health Organisation had collaborated to address the problem. Now, signs are emerging that malaria is developing resistance to the one effective drug which can still treat it. It’s a development which threatens patients all over the world. But - after decades of silence - has the WHO left it too late to act?
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The Malaria ParasitesPublisher: Journeyman
Length: 52mins
Location: Africa
Copyright: ©Robert Cockburn
Published: 26 Oct, 2006
Last Updated: 29 Oct, 2009
Ref: 3272
Length: 52mins
Location: Africa
Copyright: ©Robert Cockburn
Published: 26 Oct, 2006
Last Updated: 29 Oct, 2009
Ref: 3272
This is the untold story of how the global racket in fake drugs turned an easily curable disease into Africa’s biggest child killer. According to leading scientists, millions of children could have been saved if the pharmaceutical industry and World Health Organisation had collaborated to address the problem. Now, signs are emerging that malaria is developing resistance to the one effective drug which can still treat it. It’s a development which threatens patients all over the world. But - after decades of silence - has the WHO left it too late to act?
“The fake drugs racket is one of the greatest atrocities of our times. It is mass murder”, states Dr Dora Akunyili, director of Nigeria’s food and drugs regulatory body. Thirty years ago, malaria was rarely more dangerous than a dose of the flu. “It was when the fake drugs racket broke out that people started dying like rats”, states Dr Akunyili. Even Prof Nick White, one of the world’s top malaria scientists admits: “fifty years ago, malaria was in retreat. Now, it is getting worse.”Many believe that fake and substandard drugs are the main cause of the devastating resurgence in malaria. In the hours lost giving a child a useless fake, malaria turns into a killer. “Getting the treatment right in the first instance is crucial”, explains Dr Meremikwu, who runs the children’s emergency unit. “You don’t have time to wait.”The worst type of fakes are those which contain a small portion of active ingredient. “Counterfeit drugs with little active ingredient drive drug resistance”, explains Prof White. “Everyone in the malaria field accepts they’re a major threat.” There is now only one effective drug which treats malaria. “If we lose this drug to resistance, it will be an absolute disaster,” starts White. “All our modern treatments depend on it.” "But despite this, the WHO has missed critical opportunities to broadcast warnings about the link between fake drugs and malaria resistance.Given the dangers that fake drugs pose, questions are being asked about why the problem wasn’t tackled earlier. “The drugs companies wanted the problem kept hidden so that it doesn’t affect their legitimate business”, alleges Dr Akunyili. Graham Satchwell led the fight against fake drugs at GlaxoSmithKline. Even he admits there is “secrecy and misrepresentation” in the drugs industry over counterfeit products. “They are reluctant to admit there is a problem because once there is an admission, there is an expectation they will act accordingly.” This veil of secrecy may even extend to attempting to silence health watchdogs. When Mr Emmanuel Agyarko, Head of Ghana’s Food and Drugs Board, found counterfeit malaria drugs circulating, he alerted GlaxoSmithKline and prepared a public health warning. Agyarko claims he was asked by GlaxoSmithKline to withhold his fake drug warning to avoid damaging their genuine product. GlaxoSmithKline deny this.Currently, there is no legal requirement obliging companies to report fake drugs discoveries. But Akunyili and White are fighting to make the reporting of such finds mandatory. “If drugs companies had collaborated with governments, the fake drugs trade would have been stopped a long time ago”, states Dr Akunyili. However, Prof White points out: “it’s in the long term interests of the pharmaceuticals to do something about the counterfeit trade.” As the World Health Organisation prepares to launch a global task force to fight the racket, maybe now something will be done to end the secrecy that has already cost millions of lives.
“The fake drugs racket is one of the greatest atrocities of our times. It is mass murder”, states Dr Dora Akunyili, director of Nigeria’s food and drugs regulatory body. Thirty years ago, malaria was rarely more dangerous than a dose of the flu. “It was when the fake drugs racket broke out that people started dying like rats”, states Dr Akunyili. Even Prof Nick White, one of the world’s top malaria scientists admits: “fifty years ago, malaria was in retreat. Now, it is getting worse.”Many believe that fake and substandard drugs are the main cause of the devastating resurgence in malaria. In the hours lost giving a child a useless fake, malaria turns into a killer. “Getting the treatment right in the first instance is crucial”, explains Dr Meremikwu, who runs the children’s emergency unit. “You don’t have time to wait.”The worst type of fakes are those which contain a small portion of active ingredient. “Counterfeit drugs with little active ingredient drive drug resistance”, explains Prof White. “Everyone in the malaria field accepts they’re a major threat.” There is now only one effective drug which treats malaria. “If we lose this drug to resistance, it will be an absolute disaster,” starts White. “All our modern treatments depend on it.” "But despite this, the WHO has missed critical opportunities to broadcast warnings about the link between fake drugs and malaria resistance.Given the dangers that fake drugs pose, questions are being asked about why the problem wasn’t tackled earlier. “The drugs companies wanted the problem kept hidden so that it doesn’t affect their legitimate business”, alleges Dr Akunyili. Graham Satchwell led the fight against fake drugs at GlaxoSmithKline. Even he admits there is “secrecy and misrepresentation” in the drugs industry over counterfeit products. “They are reluctant to admit there is a problem because once there is an admission, there is an expectation they will act accordingly.” This veil of secrecy may even extend to attempting to silence health watchdogs. When Mr Emmanuel Agyarko, Head of Ghana’s Food and Drugs Board, found counterfeit malaria drugs circulating, he alerted GlaxoSmithKline and prepared a public health warning. Agyarko claims he was asked by GlaxoSmithKline to withhold his fake drug warning to avoid damaging their genuine product. GlaxoSmithKline deny this.Currently, there is no legal requirement obliging companies to report fake drugs discoveries. But Akunyili and White are fighting to make the reporting of such finds mandatory. “If drugs companies had collaborated with governments, the fake drugs trade would have been stopped a long time ago”, states Dr Akunyili. However, Prof White points out: “it’s in the long term interests of the pharmaceuticals to do something about the counterfeit trade.” As the World Health Organisation prepares to launch a global task force to fight the racket, maybe now something will be done to end the secrecy that has already cost millions of lives.
Comments
Notes:
Posted: Sep 07 2009, 02:53Report Abuse+Fake drugs is a global threat (and fraud in general)
+50 yrs ago malaria was in retreat
+Fake drugs were first noticed in Nigeria in 1968
+Fake drugs = blood money
+Medical mystery that is solvable
+(referring to taking on fake drug rackateers) "..it takes really determined individuals who
are willing to put their heads above the parapet to stir things up.."
+The main fighter against fake drugs was personally affected, her sister died
+Made of rice or chalk, packaged in anti-malaria drug packages (Hal-Fan &
Metakelfin)..selling information without substance.
+The mosquito injects about 10 parasites into the blood which make their way into the liver,
entering into red blood cells and eating them away, and more and more red blood cells become invaded
+There are no reliable stats on how many people have died due to fake drugs..some think that
millions have been killed from fake anti-malaria drugs
+BOMB ATTACKS by fake drug rackateers occurred in the offices of Dr Dora Akunyili,
destroying computers, new equipment, and documents from 2001-2004, and they did not have backups
+Auto-matic gunfire occurred, a bullet burned/grazed Dr Dora Akunyili's head
+*Selling* as a key to buying fake drugs..this selling as a security threat, threat to health
+GlaxoSmithKline's secrecy about counterfeit product information
+There's a claim that GSK did not want public warnings in Ghana to be held about fake drugs
for kids
+Corporate threats and public health threats at odds
+Dr Dora Akunyili mentioned at least twice that it could be that 70% of anti-malaria drugs
are fake
+Fake drugs are killing people through resistance that destroys the power of genuine
drugs..leading to the resurgence of malaria
+**The World Health Organization (WHO) has missed opportunities to warn people about the
link between resistance and fake drugs**
+A real Chinese drug costs $1, the fake drug costs 50 cents, 50 cents to kill a person,
similar to the mindset spoken about in the Idi Amin documentary, "it was more expensive to kill a chicken than a human being because you had to pay for the chicken."
+"With the widespread use of sub-standard drugs, we are sitting on a timebomb."
+Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has declined to discuss the fake drug racket
+As this documentary was being completed, WHO, Geneva was preparing to launch a global task force to fight the fake drug racket, but the leader Dr. Zucker declined to answer any question about the racket
+The international federation of pharmaceutical manufacturers associations Geneva quotes:
"we dont think info is withheld for commerical reasons...the industry practice is to
systematically report fake drug finds that we are aware of to the authorities...it is only
the authorities who can do anything about it...it is a criminal matter."
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