The Princess of Africa and Youssou N’Dour Produce Song to Raise Counterfeit Medicine Awareness
INTERPOL is using music to raise consumer awareness of the risks and prevalence of counterfeit medications in Africa.
INTERPOL is launching a song, “Proud To Be,” by South African music star Yvonne Chaka Chaka featuring Youssou N’Dour on October 27, 2011 at the Hotel Hilton in Nairobi, Kenya. Chaka Chaka, known as the Princess of Africa, will perform live at 11:00 and will participate in the press conference to follow.
Counterfeit medicine and medical products put lives in danger every day around the world, and in African counterfeit medication can represent one-third of all available medication on the market.
Aline Plan, Head of the Medical Product Counterfeiting and Pharmaceutical Unit (MPCPC), announced that the new song “Proud To Be” aims to raise awareness worldwide about fake drugs, the criminal networks behind them, and the risks they pose.
Said Plan, “Every day, innocent people unknowingly put their lives at risk by taking medication that is fake or has been traded illegally. These drugs can contain the wrong dose or the wrong kind of active ingredient. They do not treat the disease and, at worst, can result in serious illness or death. At INTERPOL, a dedicated unit for fighting medical product counterfeiting and pharmaceutical crime brings together different stakeholders in order to build partnerships and capacity through training. It coordinates multi-sectorial law enforcement operations and assists countries in exchanging critical information, to identify and disrupt the organized criminal networks.”
Upon the request of its member countries, INTERPOL and its partners, in collaboration with the South African singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka and the remarkable support of the Senegalese musician Youssou N’Dour, produced “Proud To Be”, the first song written to raise awareness about the danger of counterfeit medicines.
Tom Kubic, PSM Board Member, lauds INTERPOL’s new campaign.
“Once again, INTERPOL has demonstrated its untiring commitment to address the challenge of unsafe medicines. Though the cooperation of many international agencies, it has embarked on one of the most far reaching, innovative efforts designed to alert the people of Africa to the dangers of fake medicines through song.
“We, at the Partnership for Safe Medicines want to express our thanks and best
wishes on the launching of ‘Proud To Be,’ by Yvonne Chaka Chaka.”
Yvonne Chaka Chaka, known as the “Princess of Africa,” has been a popular South African musician and singer for more than 20 years. Youssou N’Dour a Senegalese singer, described by Rolling Stone as “perhaps the most famous singer alive,” is known for developing mbalax, a popular Senegalese style of music.
Supporting the project are The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculois and Malaria; Fondation Chirac; International Institute against Counterfeit Medicines; World Health Professions Alliance; Princess of Africa Foundation and Synergies Africaines.