Non-deterrent court sentences, the lust for money and porous borders have been identified as the three major challenges obstructing the fight against importation of sub-standard goods, especially foods and medicines, into Africa.
This is among the consensus reached by participants at a two-day seminar organized by the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority.
“Our bitter experience is that the control of fake and substandard drugs is a complicated issue, due to the fact that a good number of these do not enter through official border posts, thus in fact control needs co-operation between neighbouring states,” TFDA director-general Hiiti Sillo disclosed.
Other issues such as shortage of staff, and lack of “vital information” from whistleblowers also contributed, he noted.
“It is strange that people tend to go for cheap things without knowing the ultimate consequences of using them, as it is the case with using fake, substandard or expired drugs, but the effects are altogether devastating, including death itself,” said Sillo.
Contributing Ms Charys Ugullum, said simple laboratory examination can easily identify fake drugs but regretted that the general public “think laboratory experiments” are a waste of time, thereby taking their personal security for granted in using drugs.
“While we admit that there are fake and substandard drugs in the market, we request you journalists to allow us to conduct technical examinations, as we have such laboratories as can help in verifying the samples, before these matters are reported in the media,” she remarked.
“The TFDA is well equipped for examining various food samples and medicines; whoever wants to establish a business or import such goods should come to use our services to ensure that end users are not ill-affected by such commodities.”
Mr. Meshack Shashi, of the TFDA legal department, said that implementation of laws with regard to importation and use of drugs has been successful, for his organization has conducted arrests and some of the culprits have received punishment in the courts of law.
“However, some of the law-breakers get minimum sentences up to the fine of 30,000/=, for crimes that are worth millions of shillings, a fact that has caused them to go back to the same illegal conduct”, he deplored.
In another presentation, by Emmanuel Alphonce, who dealt with the matter of control of foods and drugs, said that “good training” was essential to discovering what a fake medicine is and what is not.
“In some cases we have discovered that the covers of medicines do not necessarily represent what is inside, but this needs one to be knowledgeable, and at times requires laboratory experimentation in order to verify,” he said.