Health Minister tells roadside drugs vendors to find other jobs

By Washira Helene

Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health, Dr Manaouda Malachi, has asked vendors of roadside medicines in Yaounde to find other jobs because the activity is illegal and dangerous.

Dr Malachi highlighted the dangers of roadside drugs during an awareness campaign to some markets in the capital city, Yaounde, today.

“I didn’t come to carry your merchandise,” he told vendors at the Mokolo market, after they fled on his arrival.

“I simply came to talk with you, to encourage you to change jobs because your activity is dangerous for the health of the population,” the Minister said.

The tour around Yaounde was in prelude to the African Day Against Fake Medicines.

He was accompanied on the tour by his close collaborators at MINSANTE and the President of the National Order of Pharmacists.

Upon arriving at the Yaounde Central Market and the Mokolo Market, they found medicine counters empty.

The vendors had fled after being alerted by their arrival. Some abandoned their products in the flight.

The Minister said his objective was to raise awareness among these vendors about the dangers of their activity.

He noted that street medicine is a pernicious killer because of the dubious provenance, storage conditions, and handling of these medicines.

Terming roadside medicine vendors as “sellers of death”, he said they go so far as falsifying the expiry dates of products.

This can lead to serious health problems, including cancer, kidney failure, and drug resistance.

In view of the health impact of this illegal activity, the Minister found it important to carry out this raid on these makeshift pharmacies.

He also appealed to the municipal authorities to help eradicate this phenomenon by joining the government in its fight.

According to the United Nations, fake medicines kill almost half a million people in sub-Saharan Africa yearly.

In Cameroon, most fake drugs are circulated through roadside vendors, who are however operating illegally.

Fake medicines are a major public health concern in the country. According to a 2017 study by the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 30 percent of medicines in circulation in Cameroon are fake.

A Perpetual Danger

Health experts say fake medicines can be dangerous for a number of reasons.

They may contain harmful ingredients, incorrect dosages, or no active ingredients at all. They may also be contaminated with bacteria or other microorganisms.

It is important to know that taking fake medicines can lead to serious health problems, including:

• Ineffective treatment of diseases
• Worsening of existing medical conditions
• Development of new medical conditions
• Allergic reactions and even Death.

Ten children died in March and April this year in the South West, North West and Litoral Regions after consuming a fake cough syrup called Naturcold.

The drug caused fatal kidney failure in six children in the North West, killed three in the South West and one in the Litoral.

Health officials in South West first raised awareness about the drug after three children died from taking it.

The South West Regional Delegate of Public Health, Dr Filbert Eko Eko, said the drug contained two dangerous ingredients.

Their families were reported to have bought the drug from unauthorised dealers along the roadside.

Unending Struggle

For several years now, the Cameroon Government has waged an unsuccessful fight against fake medicines and roadside drugs.

Despite sensitization and awareness campaigns, roadside medicine vendors have continued to prevail.

Some have blamed the prevalence to rising unemployment.

The vendors sell in the open, under the watch of the administration.

Sporadic campaigns often deter them for a while, but they resume sales afterwards. The illegal activity costs the government billions of francs CFA yearly.

In 2019, gendarmes seized and destroyed 665,000 tonnes of contraband medicines worth FCFA 170 billion.

However, combating roadside medicines and fake drugs in Cameroon remains an unending struggle.