Counterfeit drugs are destroyed. A technology powered by telecoms multinational, Orange, detects whether drugs are genuine or not through the use of text messages. File
The disease burden in Africa is not only pronounced due to lack of enough drugs but also presence of counterfeit drugs.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) approximately 20,000 people lose their lives every year due to consumption of fake medicines, especially anti-malaria pills.
The WHO 2007 report reveals that if such medicines were strictly checked and controlled for their quality, about a million lives would be saved annually.
Statistics from the Kenya’s National Quality Control Laboratories as well as the Pharmacy and Poisons Board indicate that an estimated 30 per cent of drugs in Kenya valued at about $ 150 million (Sh13 billion) are counterfeit.
This means millions of patients risk health complications or even death due to use of the fake drugs.
This problem is compounded by the fact that most poor patients usually opt for over-the-counter medications since they can rarely afford to visit a well-equipped hospital.
But a technology that fights counterfeit drugs using SMS is making this WHO dream come true and would save millions of patients from undue suffering and unnecessary cost.
Dubbed m-Pedigree, the technology powered by telecoms multinational, Orange, detects whether drugs are genuine or not through the use of text messages.
How it works
To find out whether the drug is genuine, the user types in a serial number on the medicine packet and sends it to a four-digit code which then generates a prompt response to show whether the drugs are genuine or not, at no cost.
Today, says the World Health Organisation, counterfeit drugs represent up to 30 per cent of shipped drugs in developing countries according to the.
Telkom Kenya-Orange CEO Mickael Ghossein says the m-Pedigree initiative involves printing a unique verification code, which is hidden behind a scratchable surface layer, on each packet or bottle of medicine.
Patients can then submit this code for free via SMS in order to automatically check the authenticity of the drug against a database managed in Europe by m-Pedigree’s partners.
Originated in Ghana, the m-Pedigree is an international network, which works with telecom operators and the pharmaceutical industry in Africa to enable patients and medical service providers confirm whether drugs are genuine through the use of SMS.
“We are convinced that the medicine of tomorrow is a connected medicine in which the management of healthcare data and medical information play an essential role,” said Ghossein.
The m-Pedigree service is currently used for two medicines – Flutrox (an antifungal drug) and Knac (an inflammatory analgesic or painkiller) and would be accessible to Telkom Orange’s 2.5 million subscribers.
Speaking during the recent Mobile Health Conference in Nairobi, Telkom Kenya-Orange CEO Mickael Ghossein said that that e-health is a key pillar of the Orange Group’s “Conquest 2015” strategy through which the firm aims to expand its healthcare offering across more territories, particularly emerging markets where access to healthcare is a key issue.
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