Illicit Drugs, Porous Borders, Major Problem...

This is one of the hurdles in efforts to curb illicit medications in the country.

Recently In the South Region, particulalry in the town of Kribi, officials seized an important stock of illicit medications worth FCFA three million and set on fire. Such a scene is common and recurrent in all the ten regions of the country, particularly in some markets in the towns of Douala, Bafoussam and Garoua especially as the government seeks to fight against illicit trade in pharmaceutical products.

However, such repressive measures by authorities seem to yield little or no fruits in the fight against illicit medications in the country. Dealers in the sector continue to make brisk business as they are seen in all the nooks and crannies in the country operating in different manners.

Cameroon, just like other African countries, is flooded with unregulated pharmaceutical products that circulate outside the officially approved channels. The issue of substandard and counterfeit medicine is on the rise and is threatening the Public Health system in the country, says the Inspector of Pharmacy at the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Marlyse Loudang.

Sources from the Ministry of Public Health also say the government has adopted multiple strategies to prevent counterfeit medicines from reaching citizens, but these efforts are often compromised by corruption, ignorance, poverty and most importantly the porous nature of Cameroon's borders which allow anything to get in or out.

In the country, Dr Marlyse Loudang says there are stringent procedures in place to market a drug in the country and a supply chain surveillance that ensures that genuine products reach officially recognised outlets. Unfortunately, she explains that apart from the officially recognised outlets, there are parallel illegal markets for medicines that are making, maybe the same turnover as official outlets but mostly in products of doubtful origin and composition.

Dr Marlyse Loudang observes that the borders of Cameroon are very porous and even worse, some customs officers who are charged with checking what comes into the country have become drug vendors themselves.

Instead of seizing illicit drugs from importers and destroying them, the Inspector of Pharmacy notes that some customs officers turn to trade in medication giving room for what people see along the road. Not only are Cameroon's borders porous, but carrying out a repressive campaign to get rid of such medicine from the society is costly and not all parties involved in the fight are committed.

The low income of some Cameroonians is not helping the fight against illicit drugs, as there are people who will always go for roadside drugs. Some of them say it is cheaper compared to what is sold in pharmacies. Pharmacists say such people have given reasons for illicit drug vendors to operate. Whatever the case, there is need to encourage actions at different levels to prevent counterfeit drugs from killing people and killing the medical and related professions.