Black Market Drugs In Mozambique

Mozambique's government has begun clamping down on black marketmedicines, according to the Inter Press News Service. At least 10% of the $50 million worth of medicines imported by the government is sold on the black market, Inter Press reports, adding that government officials claim more is being sold illegally at private clinics throughout the country.

This has upset stocks of essential drugs, says Chonguissa Moreira, head of the Ministry of Health's Pharmaceutical Department. Hospital and pharmacy staff are stealing drugs, he adds, and some medicines stolen from hospitals are being sold in private clinics where they are sometimes sold without prescription. The Ministry has also suspended five health officials accused of over-invoicing drugs; earlier in the year, 27 other civil servants were suspended for the same reasons.

Some consumers are said to believe it is cheaper and easier to buy black market medicine; to counter this, the government has introduced subsidies for civil servants.