The Managing Director of the Liberia Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (LMHRA), Luke Bawo, says about 45% of drugs advertised and sold every day in Liberia are substandard or expired.
At a one-day media engagement on the weekend, in Monrovia, Dr. Bawo said, “The quality of commodity sold or circulated is bad and it is a serious health threat.”
The training forum aimed to provide the media about the negative impact of false advertisement on health.
It was also geared to educating journalists on how to understand the importance of accurate, balanced and credible information dissemination on health products, while at the same time discussing the pathways to certifying advertisements on health products.
The LMHRA Managing Director also informed the media that there are 180 tons of expired drugs in country, and that if they are not disposed of, they will find their way into the market.
Due to these substandard or expired drugs, Dr. Bawo pointed out that there has been lingering distrust in the formal health sector, as many patients are not being relieved from their ailments at health facilities.
Dr. Bawo believes that the media can be used as the best partner in bringing an end to false advertisements in the quest to secure efficacies of quality health products stating, “We have a society where false advertisement is abound, and so in our quest to secure efficacy of drugs we have to have to curtail false advertisement and the media can help in this constructively.”
During the engagement, Dr. Bawo underscored the importance of media involvement in ending false advertisement on medical/health products.
According to the LMHRA boss, the quality of bad health products in circulation on the Liberian market is alarming, and as such, there is a need for education and awareness.
