Better information leads to better treatment
7. The medication circuit – Instructor

Medications are manufactured by pharmaceutical laboratories.

Before they sell their products (medications) in a country pharmaceutical laboratories need to obtain an official authorization also called legal authorization. This authorization allows a medication to be distributed in a country.

For the most frequent and urgent diseases each country has specific supply conditions from the manufacturers in agreement with the WHO (World Health Organization).

Medications are then sent to the places where they are prescribed :

- At the hospital, the health centre or the pharmacy, the chemist or the pharmacy officer are responsible for the delivery of the medications prescribed by the medical staff.

- In certain areas where such facilities are limited, medications can sometimes be sold by local shops provided they have an OFFICIAL AUTHORIZATION. You can recognize these places because they are generally called « MEDICATION STORE ». They are only allowed to sell the medications mentioned on their official list. They need to be regularly supervised by pharmacists.

Many street sellers acquire medications illegally to resell them on the street, in non-authorised outlets, on the market or in itinerant stores. But medication is no ordinary product : to ensure its efficiency and the patients’ safety there are very precise rules for its transit and delivery that the medical staff alone are able to implement.

1. ITS ORIGIN IS NOT CLEARLY IDENTIFIED
   These medications could be diverted from their original destination, expired, fake, illegally imported or stolen from drug donations.
   Medications from the illegal circuit are most of the time repackaged and re-labelled before they are sold. Their quality cannot be checked by the medical staff and sometimes they either don’t have any active principle or a very different active principle from the one expected. They are often outdated or damaged by poor storage conditions. 
2. THERE IS NO ADAPTED MEDICAL PRESCRIPTION WHEN YOU BUY THEM
   Selfmedication (taking a treatment on one’s own initiative) generally goes with buying medication from the illegal market. The vendors have no medical training and therefore will not be able to tell the patient how and how long they should take the treatment. Even more dangerous : they could supply medications that are not at all adapted to the patient’s needs.
3. THERE IS NO AVAILABLE INFORMATION ON THE MEDICATION 
   Often sold in bulk these medications have no package and no manual. There are sometimes a few indications but often written in a foreign language.
   Therefore the patient is unable to check the name of the medication, its medical indication, its contraindications or even its expiry date.
4. THEY ARE NOT CHEAPER
   Because they are often sold one by one or by the piece medications sold on the street seem cheaper. In fact they are most of the time more expensive than those sold through the official circuit (especially generic medications are within the reach of people with limited financial means.)
   Furthermore spending money on ineffective and even dangerous medications is a total waste.
5. A RISK FOR THE SICK PERSON BUT ALSO FOR THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY
   Taking illegal medications can lead to a worsening of the patient’s health and eventually cause death. In addition, bacteria responsible for the diseases become more resistant to drugs if these diseases are not treated properly. It becomes then much more difficult to cure these diseases even with good quality medications.