Kenya and Uganda have signed a bilateral agreement with international stakeholders in operation African Star in the fight against violative shipments of health products encountered via postal and air cargo in both countries.
Kenya’s medicines regulator Pharmacy and Poisons Board has chosen to use a multi-agency approach to combat the issue of illicit trade. The agencies and authorities involved in this approach include the Anti-Counterfeit Authority, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the Post Master General, the Kenya Revenue Authority, Immigration Services, Anti-Narcotics, National Intelligence Services, and Kenya Airports Authority.
“The threat posed by illicit trade in health products and technologies impacts global public health, and consumers. This risk increases when health products and technologies are obtained outside of the unregulated supply chain. Safety and efficacy which cannot be assured threatens the East African Community and public health at large,” said Chief Executive Officer of the PPB, Dr. Fred Siyoi.
The European Anti-fraud Office, the UK Intellectual Property Office, the US Agency for International Development, the Office of Inspector General, US Customs and Border Protection, US Food and Drug Administration, the Office of Criminal Investigations, US Postal Inspection Service, and the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service are some of the organizations taking part in the initiative.
The Uganda Revenue Authority, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, and the specialized units of the Uganda Police Force—INTERPOL and Anti-Narcotics—have all supported and participated in the National Drug Authority of Uganda’s use of its whole-of-government approach to protect public health.
“A multilateral initiative like Operation African Star allows us to exchange and develop best practices as we position ourselves to collectively combat current threats to public health and safety and prepare for those yet to come. As evidenced by the wide array of support generated for this initiative, there is a growing recognition that to effectively combat these types of dangerous products requires crosscutting partnerships. The NDA is also committed to fighting these types of shared threats to public health and safety by working across sectors and governments to target bad actors distributing these types of dangerous products,” said the Chairman of the NDA, Dr. Medard Bitekyerezo.
The Pharmaceutical Security Institute, the United Nations foreign Narcotics Control Board, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Universal Postal Union are a few of the organizations that have benefited by hosting foreign groups.
Joint enforcement teams that inspected shipments of human medications, biologic items, and nutritional supplements were made possible by Operation African Star. The examinations uncovered a number of findings that call for the cessation of synergies. These include pharmaceutical shipments that were kept and transported outside of authorized conditions, prescription drugs that were mislabeled or without valid prescriptions in order to avoid detection, and dietary supplements that were found to contain illegally imported or undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients.
The participants who took part in the training were instructed on new compounds that pose a risk to public health and safety, including psychotropic and precursors.
The participants received instruction from the host nations about the identification and handling of violative shipments within their respective legal and regulatory systems. The training made it possible for participants to have more opportunities to see first-hand as the hosts moved through and described each of their unique processes. Furthermore, the regulated industry helped by offering vital details about the goods used in the process.
Those who buy prescription drugs from unapproved sources run a serious danger to their health because these drugs could be counterfeit, of inferior quality, out-of-date, or otherwise unfit for usage. Many of these drugs are used in the treatment of severe or life-threatening illnesses, and they may be hazardous if used improperly or be useless when urgent medical attention is required.
Obtaining these drugs from outside the controlled pharmaceutical supply chain can be challenging since they are frequently delivered through third-party nations and may not have been stored or shipped under approved conditions.
“While the global supply chain has made medicines more accessible, it has simultaneously made it increasingly challenging to identify illicit products and hold bad actors accountable,” said United States Food and Drug Administration Assistant Commissioner for Criminal Investigations, Justin Green.
Strong and reciprocal ties contributed to the success of Operation African Star, which yielded significant results in Kenya and Uganda, including the opening of criminal investigations, the seizure of products found to be in violation, and the sharing of useful intelligence.
Efforts are being made to develop ways to inform patients about the risks connected to illegal drugs and support front-line staff in making decisions. Planning for future training opportunities and enforcement actions is continuing.
