Health Ministry to Control Counterfeit drugs

Phnom Penh, Cambodia (23 December 2010)

H.E Heng Teakra deliver a speech during annual assessment of the inter-ministerial committee and provincial committee for elimination of counterfeit drugs and illegal health services for poverty reduction.

The Ministry of Health on December 22^nd launched an annual assessment of the inter-ministerial committee and provincial committee for elimination of counterfeit drugs and illegal health services for poverty reduction.

H.E Heng Teakra Secretary of State of Ministry of Health said that until now counterfeit drugs and illegal health services is current complex problems for developing countries especially Cambodia. Every year, a lot of money and people life have gone by counterfeit drugs, less quality and illegal health services.

There are many factors that caused counterfeit drugs appear day to day included the limitation of knowledge, poverty and involvement of citizen especially people live in rural area and remote area in stopping counterfeit drugs, he said, adding that  less cooperation between related institution like local medicine and food authority and other developmental partnership organization such as World Health Organization (WTO), USP-PQM organization and Global Fund is also the cause of counterfeit drugs in country. One more reason is the public advertise service about disadvantage of counterfeit drugs is not propagating widely and on time. Moreover, the implement law is not yet strict and punishment is petty caused the disobedient people to violate the law.

Recently, Ministry of health also directly and indirectly advertise as public on decree, rule, law and annulment through poster, video spot about counterfeit drugs and disadvantage of using counterfeit drugs and less quality medicines. By the way, control medicine center agency has examined and follows a trail with import-export companies, medicine industrial and pharmacy over the country to ensure the security, quality and effectiveness of medicine in Cambodia. Until now, there is 9462 kind of medicine register to ministry.

To prevent the counterfeit drugs and illegal health services in Cambodia, Medicine Management law to be amendment on December 28^th 2007 and control medicine agency train trained on law and then invocation at Ministry of justice to be justice officer in implementing medicine management law, he remarked.

By the end of 2009, there are 1420 illegal pharmacy or selling medicine houses and 1055 illegal health services. But now there are only 111 illegal pharmacy or selling medicine houses and 305 illegal health service. “It is show the effective of implementing health law in Cambodia”, he noted.

According to Sub-pharmacy statistics show that there are 1389 legal pharmacy and 2700 legal private health service at the end of 2009 and the number of the legal pharmacy and legal health service are increasing day to day. At the end of 2010, there are 1555 legal pharmacy and 4317 legal private health service at the end of 2010.

In year 2010, inter-Ministerial Committee vanquish pharmacy that store illegal drugs four times including 19T 280 kilograms  at first time, 1246 cases with 133 box and 150 Tubes for second time, 650 cases for third time and collected Cosmetic 516 case for fourth time.

Based on Summary of Sample Project 2009 of KU University in JPMA program and cooperation with Medicine, food and health equipment department with National Health Laboratory pulled out nine kinds of medicine and report two kind of medicines as counterfeit drugs.

By S.L (Vol. 4, Issue 52, SEAW)