WHO acts on drug procurement fraud

With the huge amounts of money spent every year on pharmaceutical products - up to $50.0 billion - the market is extremely vulnerable to corruption, says the World Health Organization, noting the recent estimates show that as much as 25% of medicines which are procured can be lost to fraud, bribery and other corrupt practices.

In response, the WHO has launched a new initiative to assist governments to combat corruption by promoting greater transparency in medicines regulation and procurement. It is establishing a group of anti-corruption and medicines experts from international institutions and countries to promote greater transparency. "This is an aberration when you think that poor populations struggle with the double bind of a high burden of disease and low access to medical products," said Howard Zucker, the WHO's Assistant Director General for Health Technology and Pharmaceuticals. "Countries need to deal with this problem and ensure that the precious resources devoted to health are being well spent," he added.

Also results in counterfeit drugs