Pre-shipment Inspection, Testing And Certification Of Pharmaceutical Goods

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ACCORDING to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in ten medicines in developing countries is fake or substandard. Malaria drugs and antibiotics are among the most commonly reported. However, substandard drugs for cancer, heart disease and HIV, as well as contraceptives and painkillers are also on a rise. Poor quality drugs could endanger health, prolong illness and can also add to the danger of antibiotic resistance. For its part, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has estimated that 116,000 additional deaths from malaria could be caused each year by poor quality antimalarials in Sub-Saharan Africa. The WHO estimated that up to 72,000 deaths from childhood pneumonia could be attributed to the use of substandard or fake antibiotics. A report published by WHO on November 28, 2017 highlighted that of the 1500 reports of fake and low-quality medicines, 42 per cent were from Sub-Saharan Africa, 21 per cent from Europe and 21 per cent from the region of the Americas.

The Ministry of Health, Government of Mozambique has taken a leap towards curbing substandard goods from being imported into Mozambique. To this effect, they have implemented a programme of pre-shipment inspection and testing of all pharmaceuticals goods imported into Mozambique. They have started this programme with imports from India since India is their largest supplier of medicines. Approximately, 60-70 per cent of its pharma imports are from India. In value terms, Mozambique imports approximately $88 million worth of medicines from India according to EXIM Database. The Ministry of Health, Government of Mozambique has exclusively appointed Quntrol Laboratories in India to implement the process of pre-shipment inspection and testing for pharma consignments exported from India to Mozambique.