New alliance seeks to tackle the plague of falsified medical products
COVID-19 has spawned a "stark rise" in the global circulation of fake medical products relating to the pandemic, experts warn as they launch an alliance aimed at tackling the scourge.
The Fight the Fakes (FTF) Alliance, a non-profit association comprising 16 organizations from manufacturers to wholesalers, and research and patient groups, aims to raise the profile of an issue it views as long under-addressed globally, with a disproportionate impact on low- and middle-income countries.
One in 10 medical products in developing countries is either substandard or falsified, according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures from 2017. And some research suggests the prevalence of fake medicines can be as high as 70 per cent in some African countries.