Medicines are now being sold illegally on the streets in Zimbabwe as prices of drugs in pharmacies continue to increase beyond the reach of ordinary Zimbabweans. The Sunday Mail reports that antibiotics, painkillers, contraceptives, dermatological creams and body enhancement supplements are now readily available on the streets in the country. The drugs are muggled into the country.
Medicine Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) spokesperson Shingai Gwatidzo commented on the issue:
Generally, the formal market is well regulated and we are not facing major challenges with counterfeit medicines.
However, the problem has been the mushrooming of informal drug markets which can be attributed to the high costs of medicines in pharmacies and their pricing in foreign currency, especially the United States dollar.
In order to curb the problem of illegal medicines and drugs, MCAZ is conducting training and capacity building activities for ZIMRA and port health officials, so that they are able to carry out consignment verification and alert law enforcement agents where suspicious goods are identified.
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More: The Sunday Mail