AfricaVox 2007

The new curse of counterfeit drugs

Kakaire Kirunda

Having been a victim of malaria only a few days before my travel to Germany, there was no way a particular article in the June edition of Emirates airline's in-flight magazine was going to escape my attention.

The article was titled Deadly Fakes. It was about an emerging ‘epidemic of counterfeits’ of life-saving drugs in Asia, which is now spreading to the developing world.

The article spoke of bogus antibiotics, tuberculosis drugs, AIDS drugs and meningitis vaccines. I wondered whether I might be one of the latest victims of this phenomenon given that the first course of treatment I got for my malaria failed to work.

All this spells doom for Africa where most of the aforementioned drugs are needed more than ever before. With more ARVs, TB drugs and anti-malarials on the increase in Africa – where most national drug authorities lack the technology to identify fakes – the statistics of fatalities caused by counterfeit drugs are bound to skyrocket.

The DDT debate: to spray or not to spray?

Collins Vumiria

Kakaire's blog - It all started with a severe headache – got me thinking about malaria, about DDT, and about the potential for conflict between environmental concerns and health.

Uganda is rightly worried about the tens of thousands of its citizens thought to die of malaria each year. So is the World Health Organisation (WHO). Perhaps that’s why after years of banning the anti-malarial DDT, the WHO now says it’s safe.

In February I attended a summit of health ministers from the East African community. One of the issues discussed was the residual spraying of DDT in homes to do away with malaria-spreading mosquitoes.

Tanzania's health minister said his country would embark on a nationwide programme of spraying after successfully ridding the island of Zanzibar of malaria. Other countries are following suit, with Uganda planning to start in the next couple of months.

Despite this, the controversy surrounding this chemical isn’t over yet. Several Ugandan environmental activists have detailed its dangers. And reports on the internet are mixed.

But there are other concerns too…

It all started with a severe headache…

Our nine journalists are packing their suitcases ahead of their imminent trip to Germany. But earlier this week it was touch and go whether Kakaire would make the journey…

Health poster, Tanzania

It all started with a severe headache, body aches and joint pains, followed by high temperatures. Malaria. I had come down with one of the leading killer diseases in my country - the annual death toll is estimated to run into tens of thousands.

Like most people who live in areas where malaria is endemic, it wasn’t my first attack. But now I was worried that it might put pay to my trip to the G8.

Until then all I’d been thinking about was what weather and food to expect, and what kind of hospitality my hosts would offer. The day I was diagnosed, I couldn’t think straight and work was out of the question.

Back in 1997 I had life-threatening malaria. I’m not sure if at the time the anti-malarial ACTs (artemisin-based combination therapies) – the current gold-standard treatment – were widely available. If so, they were probably too expensive anyway. Somehow I managed to get through it… with the grace of the creator.

This time around, it wasn’t a complicated attack and I could afford the $10 to get the ACT treatment. But many people in Uganda can’t pay this. ACTs are more expensive than other standard treatments and supplies are sometimes limited.

I’m one of the lucky ones. When most of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, the cost of the drugs is simply draining. Perhaps the G8 leaders should consider what happens to those who can’t even raise a dollar…