Health Ministry destroys Le 1.8 billion worth of fake drugs

The Deputy Health Minister Mohamed D. Koroma and team made up mainly of members of the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone yesterday destroyed confiscated fake and substandard drugs worth over Le 1.8 billion at the Bomeh incinerator in Freetown.

The drugs according to the Health Minister were those confiscated mainly from drug peddlers, importers of counterfeit and substandard products, expired drugs found in registered drugs and pharmaceutical outlets in and around Freetown alone.

Talking on the relevance of the destruction exercise, the Health Minister said “the lives of innocent, unsuspecting and gullible citizens are greatly under threat by this menace we now see before us today, drugs that could have been responsible for the death of thousands of our citizens but for the timely intervention of the Ministry through the Pharmacy Board”.

Koroma told journalists present during the destruction exercise that the market of counterfeit medicines in the country is being engineered by unscrupulous businessmen who put personal advantage before human life and the public health of the country of the country; calling on all and sundry to rise to the pace set by the Board to ensure that the drugs and pharmaceutical market is cleansed of the menace of fake and expired drugs. This he said will only be achieved if all hands come on deck to make sure that people ignore products sold by vendors and unlicensed outlets, report issues of the illegal importation of drugs and pharmaceuticals to the police, the Board or the Ministry; describing the act as not only illegal but sadistic.

Registrar of the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone WCN Johnson thanked the Deputy Minister and the Vice President of the Republic Chief Samuel Sam Sumana for providing the necessary support for the Pharmacy Board to carryout such undertakings as part of the achievement of the country’s health agenda as enshrined in the President’s agenda for change.

He noted that fake, counterfeit and expired drugs are no small killers and that people must come to terms with the reality that it is high time everyone comes onboard to ensure that what one takes for cure does not end up killing you. This he said will only be achieved when patriotism is embraced and respect for the god-given lives of the people of Sierra Leone are respected by fellow compatriots who he said have ruthlessly taken to the importation of such medicines that are dangerous to health and wellbeing of the people.

He at this stage called on all stake holders, the police, local authorities, business men and women, drivers, and the government itself to take seriously to the fight against this menace owing to its relevance to the health of the Sierra Leone Public.   

He however noted that the fight against fake and expired drugs will continue tirelessly until such a time when Sierra Leone is rid of this inexcusable evil.

Head of the Inspection Department at the Pharmacy Board Shuary Barlatt told media men that “this is a very happy day for me and my men and women at the Inspection Department (responsible for the confiscation of the destroyed drugs) to see that accomplishment of our aim in getting these drugs out of the market and ensuring that they are publicly destroyed in front of all to see and to serve as deterrent to all those that may be intending to join this ugly business is achieved.”

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