Many sub-Saharan African countries have a health issue due to counterfeit and inferior drugs.

In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 10% of medical items in poor nations were false or substandard, with 42% of reports coming from WHO African Regions. DrugStoc, a health IT business, fights counterfeit drugs via a secure mobile app.

DrugStoc’s transparent and trackable supply chain may help address sub-Saharan Africa’s counterfeit drug problem.

African Drug Counterfeiting

HIV/AIDS, malaria, and ebola are more prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa due to poverty, social instability, and a weak healthcare system. In 2020, 95% of malaria-related fatalities occurred in WHO African Regions, with small children and pregnant women especially at risk due to their low immunity.

In 2018, 25.7 million Africans had HIV, about two-thirds of the global total.

Sub-Saharan Africa has a strong need for medical goods, but its pharmaceutical sector is not developed enough to meet domestic health care demands. Africa produces just 3% of global medication, and its health care system relies on imports. Africa imports almost 80% of medical items.

After the COVID-19 outbreak, organized crime and unscrupulous law enforcement made counterfeit drugs a profitable business. The increased demand for medical supplies hindered the supply chain for current pharmaceuticals and distributed counterfeit COVID-19 vaccinations and face masks.

Africans suffer greatly from counterfeit drugs. Between 2017 and 2021, police collected nearly 600 tons of counterfeit medicine, and counterfeit and substandard malaria treatments cause up to 267,000 fatalities each year, according to the UNODC. Fake drugs are costing lives and undermining Africans’ trust in doctors.

DrugStoc Solved It

DrugStoc, a 2016 Nigerian health care technology firm, provides a dependable, transparent supply chain for health care professionals to combat counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Making their supply chain transparent and end-to-end traceable eliminates illicit involvement in import and distribution.

The firm provides health care professionals 24/7 delivery via a mobile app. DrugStoc is also helping pharmaceutical businesses enter the burgeoning African market while eliminating counterfeit drug trafficking.

Looking Ahead

DrugStoc’s performance implies health care technology might combat sub-Saharan Africa’s counterfeit drug epidemic.

African IT and digital markets are expanding. Internet and cell phone use is rising dramatically. DrugStoc shows how technology may solve sub-Saharan Africa’s health problems.