The AMFm and Medicine Diversion: Good intent enabling corrupt practices

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Public Health

Background:

• Subsidized and donated medicines are crucial for malaria control in Africa.
• Theft and diversion of these essential medicines are suspected but not well-quantified.
• Diversion poses risks including bolstering criminal networks and exacerbating medicine stock-outs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence and extent of diversion of subsidized malaria medicines in African cities.
• To quantify the presence of diverted antimalarial products in the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Main Methods:

• Researchers investigated 14 cities across Africa.
• The study assessed the availability of diverted subsidized malaria medicines in pharmacies within these cities.

Main Results:

• Diverted subsidized malaria medicines were found in 11 out of 14 investigated cities.
• In four of these cities, over 50% of visited pharmacies stocked diverted antimalarial products.
• The findings indicate widespread diversion impacting medicine accessibility.

Conclusions:

• Medicine diversion is a significant and widespread problem in the studied African regions.
• The illicit trade in subsidized malaria medicines has substantial public health implications.
• Urgent interventions are needed to secure the supply chain for essential antimalarial drugs.