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Unregulated drugs are circulating, endangering people’s health. Patients often find themselves buying medicines in the informal market without the assurance of effectiveness or safety provided by medical professionals.
Faced with this crisis, Vololona Rabetsaroana, CEO of the Métropole Group, sounded the alarm. It stressed the urgency of adopting strict regulation to correct this disastrous situation. Laws should be enacted to control the distribution and sale of medicines ”, she declared firmly.
Such measures could limit access to counterfeit medicines and ensure that the people of Madagascar have access to quality prescription medicines. She also advocated for better education for health professionals and awareness campaigns to educate the population about the dangers of illegal purchases.
The country has about 30 million inhabitants but only 350 pharmacies, a figure far below the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of one pharmacy per 10,000 people in urban areas and one pharmacy per 5,000 people in rural areas. However, the ratios in Madagascar are catastrophic. The lack of pharmacies is particularly worrying for the rural population, who are often isolated and face additional logistical barriers in accessing healthcare.
The situation is worrying when we know that pharmacists are key players in the health system, local representatives, and play an important role in the encounter with patients, both in terms of access to treatment and awareness of the correct use of medicines.
The Health Code, which was introduced in 2011, stipulates that after a pharmacy opens, no drug warehouses can be authorized within a 10-kilometer radius, and all previous authorizations are invalid. However, Congress has amended several clauses, including this one. Pharmacists believe that drug sales should not be a basic necessity, but require minimum knowledge.
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