Fake meds thrive among the poor

A long-running struggle in Nigeria against fake medicines has become even harder because widespread economic hardship is driving up demand, experts say.

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Lagos -

The scale of the problem was highlighted last month, when authorities set ablaze $645 million (about R11.8 billion) worth of counterfeit medicines seized in six weeks of raids in Lagos and two southern states.

"What we have found could ruin a nation," said the head of the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (Nafdac), Mojisola Adeyeye. "What we have found could destabilise a government."

Efforts in Nigeria to curb sales of fake and substandard medicines has been going on for decades.