The Global Pharma Health Fund (GPHF), a charitable initiative funded by German pharmaceutical firm Merck KGaA, has donated a compact mobile laboratory for identifying counterfeit medicines to the Ghanaian Ministry of Health.
Stephen Opuni, chief executive of the Ghana Food and Drugs Board, the agency charged with ensuring the quality of drugs in Ghana, received the Minilab in the presence of Sylvester Mensah, chief executive of the National Health Insurance Authority, and Ghanaian-born football player Gerald Asamoah.
The Minilab is worth around 9,400 Ghanaian new cedis (approximately €4,000).
‘Counterfeit medicines pose a serious threat to public health globally, here in Ghana as well,’ said Opuni. ‘21 Minilabs are already being used in this country, and each additional Minilab makes a valuable contribution to quality control of medicines.’
The International Police Organisation Interpol estimates that 10–30% of all medicines in Africa are counterfeit or of inferior quality.
Asamoah, who played as a member of German national football team in 43 national matches and has played in more than 300 matches in the German Bundesliga, set up the Gerald Asamoah Foundation for Children with Heart Conditions in 2007. This foundation supports German and international aid projects and has long-term plans to build a ward in Accra for children with heart conditions.
Asamoah said: ‘I’m amazed at how quickly and easily counterfeit medicines can be detected anywhere in the world using the analytical methods of the Minilab.’
During the event, Karim Bendhaou, md of Merck North West Africa, promised Asamoah an ultrasonic measuring device for the paediatric ward of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
So far, the GHPF has donated Minilabs to more than 80 countries or delivered them at cost; approximately half of the 500 compact labs are being used in African countries.
The Minilab consists of two portable and tropic-resistant suitcases and provides a large number of test methods for checking medicines for external abnormalities, identity and content. Currently, 57 active pharmaceutical ingredients can be tested, particularly those in medicines commonly used against infectious diseases. The test methods include those for common antibiotics, anthelmintics, virostatics, anti-malarial medicines, tuberculostatics and other medicines.
The combination of a simple, reliable test set for on-site testing and a manual with detailed instructions on conducting the tests is said to be unique. The GPHF is also developing new test methods to be able to check even more medicines. In addition, it offers training to ensure that the users are familiar with the test methods.
