Opinion | DOI: https://doi.org/10.31579/2690-1897/185
*Corresponding Author: Michael Mynhardt, Co-Founder & CEO at MMH & Partners.
Citation: Michael Mynhardt, (2024), When the perceived cure becomes poison: illicit trade of counterfeit medication threatens health security in Africa, J, Surgical Case Reports and Images, 7(3); DOI:10.31579/2690-1897/185
Copyright: © 2024, Michael Mynhardt. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Received: 15 April 2024 | Accepted: 23 April 2024 | Published: 29 April 2024
Keywords: .
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Of all the mysteries of our infinitely strange world, the placebo effect is among the most useful. Beyond the literal mind-boggling effects had by being administered a “useless” treatment, the effect not only remains useful for clinical studies, but has proven to be more than just mere medical mythology or misunderstanding (unlike the widespread lobotomies, trepanning, and bloodletting of yesteryear). The “magic” runs even deeper – people who are aware that they are taking a placebo are still, somehow, able to feel effects which should not be possible in our strictly cause-and-effect model of scientific thinking. So, this raises the question: if I have a headache, what difference would it really make if my Panados were real or not?
For many, this scenario is not hypothetical but a fraught reality. Even worse, many people who believe they are being treated are not even afforded the knowledge that the pills they are taking are duds. Some may regard this scenario with confusion, asking “if placebos do work, then surely this doesn’t matter?” But here’s the thing: as Harvard Medical School’s Prof Kaptchuk emphasises, although “placebos can make you feel better, they will not cure you.”
The Counterfeit Pandemic
Counterfeit goods have always been a staple black market product, but it may come as a surprise to some that, according to the World Health Organization, the sale of counterfeit medication is the world’s most lucrative illicit trade. Heartbreakingly predictable, Africa has become home to an estimated 42% of the world’s cases of trade in counterfeit medications, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable and desperate of populations living in low- or middle-income countries.
These phony drugs are not harmless – placebos may provide some relief, but they cannot treat the many pandemics crippling the continent. TB, cholera, and HIV/AIDS (among many, many more) cannot be treated with fake drugs. Counterfeit malaria medication is estimated to be directly attributable to the deaths of between 64,000 and 158,000 Africans every year, while some African countries have their antimalarial market comprised of (at worst) 88.4
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