Drug donations

Drug donations

Monitoring Dutch donations

Since its start in 1995, the Dutch campaign to raise awareness on drug donations has triggered attention from the media, politicians, and its most important target group, pharmacists. An evaluation study carried out in 1997 found that one-quarter of Dutch pharmacists still donate medicines regardless of the fact that Dutch law prohibits the use of returned, prescription drugs. However, this number is a sharp decrease compared to three years ago when research determined that 60%-70% of pharmacists in the country donated drugs.

At the end of last year, the country's Committee on Drug Donations, of which Wemos is a member, published Dutch guidelines for drug donations. In total, 1,500 copies of the guidelines were distributed among development and health NGOs, pharmacists and interested, small-scale aid organisations. These guidelines are endorsed by the Dutch Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Development Cooperation, the Health Inspectorate, the non-U.S. members of the country's pharmaceutical industry association as well as many development and health NGOs. The collaborative campaign is now building cooperation with other European initiatives on donations and plans are underway to work more closely with organisations in Spain, France and Germany. For more information about the Dutch campaign, contact: Mark Raijmakers at Wemos, Postbus 1693, 1000 BR, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, tel: (+31-20) 468 8388, fax: (+31-20) 468 6008 or e-mail: wemos@wemos.nl

Bad donations lead to recommendations in Bosnia

A team of researchers evaluated the donations of medical supplies entering war-torn cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to mid-1996. An estimated 28,800 to 34,800 metric tons of medicines and supplies were thought to have entered the region during this time. They found approximately 50%-60% of the received drugs and supplies to be inappropriate. The drugs included under this category were unsorted, free samples, contained difficult to understand labels and came in small quantities. A large number of the inappropriate drugs were actually dumped. These included mostly large amounts of useless medications such as army supplies dating from World War II, plaster tape from 1961 and drugs for diseases such as leprosy, which are not found in the area.

By the end of the study period, approximately 17,000 metric tons of inappropriate and useless drugs lay waiting in storehouses and medical clinics in the region. The researchers estimated that each ton of useless drugs donated saves the donor incineration or re-shipping costs of about US$2,000. These costs must then be paid by the recipient country which also faces possible environmental hazards caused by the methods of destruction.

Based upon the reality of uncoordinated emergency aid in Bosnia and Herzogovina during this time, the researchers called for better coordination of medicines and related supplies during health emergencies. They also encourage the use of the inter-agency Guidelines on Drug Donations and careful screening of drugs to ensure they meet quality conditions before companies reap any possible tax benefit or cross the border. They also suggest that donor countries or companies should also be fined or forced to pay the cost of destroying or re-shipping useless drugs to discourage such dumping.

(For a full copy of the article "Inappropriate Drug-Donation Practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992-1996" contact: Gérard Schmets, European Association for Health and Development, 34 Joseph II St., 1000 Brussels, Belgium.)

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