Voice 1
Hello. I’m Marina Santee.
Voice 2
And I’m Mike Procter. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
You know what you are up against when you have a disease without any cure. You do not have any expectations from drugs or medicines. But if you have a disease that can be cured or managed, you do have expectations. Many people take drugs every day. Drugs have an extremely important job to do. We are not talking about illegal drugs like heroin, cocaine, or ecstasy. We mean medicines - the drugs that you take on doctors’ orders, because you are sick. People spend money buying these drugs, these medicines. They need them to get well. So, imagine how terrible it is if they discover their drugs are not real. Somebody has sold them false copies of the real drugs. The copies are called ‘counterfeits’ or ‘fakes’. Usually, they simply do not work. But sometimes they are dangerous.
Voice 2
Doctor Dora Nkem Akunyili is an expert in the drugs industry. She has seen the tragic results of fake drugs. Here is her story:
Voice 3
‘In 1986 my sister, Vivian, developed the condition ‘diabetes’. She began injecting insulin to control her blood sugar level. But then, she stopped reacting to the insulin. The doctors and family were unsure why this happened. (Her health continued to worsen. She developed more health problems.) Doctors gave her antibiotic drugs. But they did not cure her. She died in January 1988. We learned that she died from the use of fake insulin. We were all (terribly shocked and troubled). The pain of her loss will remain with me all my life. She was the best in our family.’
Voice 1
This is a tragic story. And sadly, Akunyili says that it is one of many. Akunyili is now doing everything in her power to stop counterfeit and fake drugs.
Voice 2
In Akunyili’s native country of Nigeria, local people call her Doctor Dora. She is the Director General of Nigeria’s National Agency for Drug and Food Administration - or NAFDAC. She took this job in 2001. And she was shocked at her findings. At that time there were no effective rules for food and drugs in Nigeria. This permitted all the false drugs to get on to the market. Akunyili and her team discovered that almost seventy percent of drugs in Nigerian markets were fake or counterfeit. These drugs contained little or nothing that could cure a person. Or some of the drugs had passed their ‘use by’ date. Drug suppliers simply put new, wrong, dates on them. Nigeria’s hospitals contained fake equipment. Doctors were trying to re-start hearts, without knowing they were using false drugs! Counterfeit and fake drugs have led to tens of thousands of deaths in Nigeria.
Voice 1
So how did the situation get this bad? Well firstly in Nigeria it is extremely hard to be an honest worker in the drug supply industry. Dishonest importers simply pay money to get their products onto the market. People who try and resist such methods often suffer. They suffer from threats and physical attacks.
Voice 2
A lack of knowledge has also worsened the situation. Many people simply do not know they are using false drugs. This includes members of the public and health workers. Some counterfeit drugs appear very similar to the real drugs. It can be difficult even for the real drug producers to know the difference. Many people find out when it is too late. Another factor lies with the exporting countries. Many of them do not control drug exports closely. Laws against drug counterfeiters are weak. Criminals can make a lot of money without a lot of risk.
Voice 1
So who is responsible for these counterfeit drugs? Dishonest Nigerian drug suppliers work with people in different parts of the world - especially India and China. Akunyili’s organisation has banned thirty Indian and Chinese companies. These companies are no longer able to export their drugs into Nigeria.
Voice 2
Akunyili and her team have a hard job to do. Akunyili walked into a drug industry full of dishonesty. So she decided to change the organisation’s way of thinking. She said,
Voice 3
‘My first step was to change the way of thinking of the NAFDAC workers. It was a cultural revolution. We made plans to fight drug counterfeiting and other product faking. I made sure that our laws and methods could not be compromised.’
Voice 2
NAFDAC has taken and destroyed counterfeit drugs worth sixteen million [16,000,000] dollars People all over the world recognise Akunyili’s efforts. In 2005 the Human Rights Defence Organisation gave Akunyili an award. It was the ‘Grassroots Human Rights Campaigner Award’. But Akunyili’s work does have a high personal risk. She is on the front line of the counterfeit drugs war. And counterfeiters know her name. They are fighting back. They have burnt down NAFDAC’s offices. They have threatened to kill Akunyili and her children. They have even shot her in her car. Akunyili said,
Voice 3
‘My family lives in fear about their lives - especially about me. My youngest son was threatened in school. He feared for his life. So, he told people that I am only a relation - not his mother. My husband is a doctor. He also lives in fear. He has security around him twenty-four hours a day. As for me, I do not have a social life. Police and security surround me the whole time. I am very careful wherever I go. There are always criminals watching my moves. My husband deals with the (worry) through sport - he plays tennis. I deal with mine by praying continuously.’
Voice 2
The problem of counterfeit drugs is not only in Nigeria. It is not only in developing countries. It is a problem in many parts of the world - including Britain and the United States. Akunyili says that international action is needed. She said,
Voice 3
‘(Removing) counterfeit drugs should be treated as an international health emergency.’
Voice 1
Akunyili says that increasing public knowledge has produced big results in Nigeria. Many true drug companies fear losing business if news of fake drugs becomes public. But Akunyili urges nations to be more open and honest. People’s lives are at risk. She points out that making the problems public will help the true drug companies in the end. People will be surer that the drugs they take are safe. This can only be good for the drug industry and for sick people. It is a fight that Dora Akunyili knows is worth it.
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