Fake drugs bought as last resort in Ivory Coast

An estimated 30% to 50% of the Ivory Coast's population is knowingly buying drugs from the black market, despite government campaigns to warn the public about the dangers of buying products, ranging from cheap imitations to completely counterfeit products containing dangerous substitutes. The reason, according to a report by the UN's Integrated Regional Information Networks, is that an anti-infective medicine which can cost 35,000 Communaute Financiere Africaine francs ($79.49) at official prices is available as a "street medicine" at 150 CFA francs per tablet. The Health Ministry has recently announced "considerable price reductions" in pharmacies to help poorer Ivoreans.