WHO to bolster fight against counterfeit medicine (2)

The WHO also said that actions to educate consumers, and healthcare and industry professionals should be defined to avoid counterfeit medicine.

The First Meeting of the Member State Mechanism on Substandard and Counterfeit Medical Products, organized by the WHO and the Argentinean Health Ministry, ended Wednesday with a call to combat the global health scourge that affects millions of people.

"Access to healthcare should be linked to access to safe and affordable products," said Chen during the meeting.

The World Health Assembly decided at its 65th session in May to create the Member State Mechanism on Substandard, Spurious, Falsely Labeled, Falsified, Counterfeit Medical Products to strengthen international collaboration on strategies against counterfeit medicines.

The production, distribution and sale of counterfeit medicine is a problem that affects access to proper healthcare as a global public good and endangers the health of people in all regions, said the WHO.

The WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system.

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