Phnom Penh Reports Illegal Pharmacy Crackdown
The Cambodian Ministry of Health reported a 92% decrease in the number of illegal pharmacies nationwide and a 71% fewer unlicensed health clinics over the past year, on December 22, 2010.
The Cambodian Ministry of Health reported a 92% decrease in the number of illegal pharmacies nationwide and a 71% fewer unlicensed health clinics over the past year, on December 22, 2010.
Ministry Secretary Heng Taykry said that the number of illegal pharmacies decreased from 1,420 to 111 in the past year and the number of illegal health clinics dropped from 1,055 to 305 in the same period, reports The Phnom Penh Post.
Heng Taykry said, “Although we are still faced with the problems of counterfeit drugs, illegal pharmacies and illegal clinics, we are happy to see the decline. These statistics are the result of health officers’ diligent efforts to combat counterfeit drugs, illegal pharmacies and illegal clinics.”
He went on to warn that though the crackdown was successful, there are still many illegal businesses selling fake drugs, and that the use of fake medication resulted in many deaths, The Phnom Penh Post reported.
The Director of the Ministry of Health’s Department of Drugs and Food, Heng Bun Keat, said the closing illegal pharmacies and clinics will help eliminate fake drugs. “Counterfeit medication trafficking is rampant in pharmacies and clinics that do not have licenses from the Health Ministry.”
A World Health Organisation representative supported the closures stating that drug sales need to be limited to licensed pharmacies. This way, “you can be sure that those who sell the drugs are actually licensed and have the knowledge to inform the public”, said Pieter van Maaren.
Cambodia has been in the spotlight recently for the development of arteminisin resistant malaria, which has alarmed the World Health Organization. WHO and the Cambodian government have been working closely together to remove fake and substandard anti-malarials from the market because scientists believe that once a new strain occurs through spontaneous change in the parasite, its ability to survive is promoted by substandard medications.
Containment activities involve long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets, recruitment and training of village health workers equipped with rapid diagnostic tests, and most importantly free malaria treatment and follow-up. Free treatment is key to the success of the containment effort because “free treatment and care helps to undermine the sale of counterfeit and substandard antimalarial drugs,” states WHO in the “Global Report on Antimalarial Drug Efficacy And Drug Resistance: 2000-2010.”