UN COSTS FRAUDULENT DRUG PROBLEM AT USD1.6 BILLION FOR ASIA AND AFRICA

BY KEITH NUTHALL THE UNITED Nations' main crime-fighting body has valued the cost of the fraudulent medicine industry at USD1.6 billion annually in Africa and Asia alone. Fake medicines have become an important health-related concern and a growing area of organised crime, something international bodies realise they need to increasingly deal with, said a communiqué from the UN Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC). "Fraudulent medicines offer organised criminal groups a high return commodity with relatively low risks, ultimately at the expense of the health ...


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