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Thursday, November 14, 2024

Warning: 45% Medicine in Liberia Fake

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The Managing Director of the Liberia Medicine and Health Product Regulatory Authority (LMHRA), Luke L. Bawo, has sounded the alarm over the prevalence of substandard and expired drugs and other medicinal products across Liberia, posing a significant health threat to the population.

Bawo revealed that approximately 45% of medicines and health products circulating in Liberia are either expired or substandard, while only around 20% of these commodities undergo rigorous testing to ensure their safety and efficacy.

“Liberia faces an existential health threat. The products we have in the country are even more dangerous to the lives of the people just like the diseases we are trying to prevent,” Bawo said during a media engagement workshop organized by the LMHRA.

The workshop, themed “Preventing False Advertisements on Health & Non-Health Products,” aimed to inform the media about the negative impacts of misleading advertisements on health and emphasize the importance of promoting accurate and reliable information.

Bawo expressed concerns about the prevalence of expired products, amounting to approximately 180 tons scattered across various locations, posing a risk of re-entering the market if not managed and disposed of properly.

The LMHRA boss also highlighted the issue of distrust in the formal health sector due to the prevalence of substandard products, as patients who do not experience the expected outcomes from products obtained through formal health channels may seek alternative health sources, undermining the efforts of healthcare professionals and regulatory bodies.

“When people attend facilities and they are not getting well, they begin to look for other sources. Some begin to go to the informal health sectors, those traditional healers, to the black buckets in the market and in just about anywhere they can get some relief,” Bawo said.

The LMHRA workshop aimed to strengthen the collaboration between the regulatory authority and media institutions in combating false advertisements and disseminating reliable and accurate information on health products to rebuild confidence in Liberia’s formal healthcare system.

 

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