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Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Risk Mitigation
Project

Project 066: MEDISAFE – Combating illicit traffic and enhancing the safety of medicines in Eastern and Central Africa

Context

Falsified medicines are manufactured and sold by criminal individuals and organizations by exploiting weak national legislation and enforcement.
Widespread infectious diseases coupled with pervasive poverty make the developing countries on the African continent particularly vulnerable to harm from falsified medicines, which are now estimated to constitute around 30 percent of all medicines sold in Africa.
Reports of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in Eastern and Central Africa indicate a wide variety of detrimental effects on public health, revenues to firms, lost taxes to governments, foreign investment, which consequently leads to loss of jobs and economic opportunities. This type of crime is extremely profitable for criminal groups, even more so than drug trafficking, and the sanctions and penalties are less severe.

Objectives

Achieving enhanced awareness and understanding of the risks of falsified medicines and develop measures for safety and security from falsified medicines in the region, taking the country-specific baseline situation into account.

Stakeholders

Coordinators

European Commission

United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)

Website
http://www.unicri.it

Participants

Expertise France - Agence Francaise D'expertise Technique Internationale (French public agency for international technical assistance) (AFETI)

Website
https://www.expertisefrance.fr/

This project is part of a pre-existing EU activity in the regions and has not resulted from the submission of a CoE project proposal. Due to the different origin of the project, not all countries involved are CoE partner countries.

** This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

*** This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.