A review on drug quality surveillance in West Africa

Background: Comprehensive and concerted drug quality surveillance has been recognised as a panacea towards ensuring that safe and effective drugs are in circulation.

Objectives: This review chronicles the efforts at ensuring good quality drugs within the West African subregion. It also discusses the efforts of International donor agencies and National Drug Regulatory Agencies at combating the menace of substandard, spurious, falsely-labeled, falsified and counterfeit (SSFFC) medicines.

Methods: Literature searches were conducted on all reports detailing efforts within the various countries in the sub-region. The expectations of various donor agencies and international organizations were reviewed from available reports. Efforts by the various National Agencies were also studied using information on their websites. Based on the available records, the recurring challenges were identified and solutions proffered.

Results: Several publications in scientific journals were found addressing the quality of circulating drugs within West Africa. The reports spanned close to fifteen years. Majority of the reports on antibacterial agents focused more on antimicrobial resistance rather than on the quality of the agents. The efforts of the donors are commendable as they have been providing avenues in terms of technical training and provision of reference standards. Several challenges against effective drug quality are still prevalent in the sub-region.

Conclusion: It is imperative to note that the battle against circulation of SSFFCs is far from being won. Every stakeholder in the drug distribution chain must arise to the responsibilities of eliminating them.