By Mohamed Kamara
A recent crackdown by the Sierra Leone Pharmacy Board on fake and substandard drug retailers has been met with skepticism. Madam Bintu Jalloh, a 48-year-old Sierra Leonean medical professional working at a hospital in Columbus, Ohio, USA, has questioned whether these actions address the root of the country’s long-standing problem with counterfeit medications.
In a phone interview on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, Jalloh expressed doubt about the efficacy of the Pharmacy Board’s current strategies. She argued that the destruction of seized counterfeit drugs, often publicized as amounting to billions of old Leones, appears more like a show of commitment rather than a genuine solution. “The truth is yet to be told,” she remarked, suggesting that the core issue lies elsewhere.
Jalloh, who works among a large community of Sierra Leonean nurses in Ohio, believes that the Pharmacy Board’s actions focus too much on the lower end of the drug trade—namely, poor hawkers selling these counterfeit products to sustain their livelihoods. She asserts that the real problem lies with the wealthy importers who bring these drugs into the country from Asian and African countries. According to her, these importers, many of whom are millionaires, distribute their products widely across the ECOWAS region, except in countries like Niger, where drug sales are strictly regulated.
Jalloh explained that containers of counterfeit drugs often enter Sierra Leone through neighboring Guinea’s free port and are then transported by road. She claimed that customs officials and the Pharmacy Board are aware of these activities and even provide a grace period for importers to distribute their products across the country to recoup their investments. Only after the drugs have been widely dispersed do officials begin targeting the smaller retailers, seizing their stock in what she describes as an attempt to harass those with limited means.
Highlighting the need for a more effective approach, Jalloh compared the situation in Sierra Leone to what would happen in the USA. “If this were in the USA, the first thing would be to disrupt the supply routes with a combined operation involving customs and pharmacy officials,” she said. However, she claimed that in Sierra Leone, there is an “alliance” between customs and the Pharmacy Board that allows the drug trade to continue in exchange for bribes from importers.
Jalloh also pointed out a broader issue with Sierra Leone being a hub for pharmaceutical imports from India. According to her, drugs are often manufactured in India with specific inscriptions indicating they are for sale at a particular pharmacy in Sierra Leone, despite lacking World Health Organization (WHO) approval. She warned that consuming these unapproved drugs can lead to various health problems, including secondary infections and even death.
For the Pharmacy Board to demonstrate its commitment to public health, Jalloh suggests they should focus on the importers rather than the small-scale hawkers. “If the Pharmacy Board wants to prove its integrity as a reliable protective health institution, let them begin to arrest the importers and seize the large quantities of drugs upon arrival in rented stores,” she concluded.
Jalloh’s critique highlights a complex issue in Sierra Leone’s fight against counterfeit drugs, suggesting that the current focus on small-scale sellers overlooks the larger, more systemic problems involving importers and regulatory authorities.
