The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Health Organization and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa report that over 251 tonnes of medical products were seized across the region from 2020 to 2025, exposing a large‑scale trafficking network.

The seized items span antibiotics, antimalarials and psychoactive drugs such as tramadol and pregabalin, illustrating the breadth of therapeutic categories targeted by traffickers.

Falsified and substandard medicines have caused treatment failure, poisoning and preventable deaths, including a documented incident in which 12 children died in Cameroon after consuming contaminated paediatric syrup.

Armed groups exploit the trade by looting health facilities, reselling medicines or taxing shipments that pass through territories they control, turning medical products into a revenue stream that can finance conflict.

Trafficking occurs through multiple channels, including diversion from legitimate supply chains, distribution by unauthorised actors and illicit imports, using maritime, riverine, air and road routes.

Most of the diverted products originate from major exporters in Asia and Europe, while some falsified medicines are produced in clandestine laboratories within CEMAC countries and neighbouring states.

Regional authorities are already responding: CEMAC adopted a Common Pharmaceutical Policy in 2013, the African Union launched the African Medicines Agency in 2019, and CEMAC is drafting a regional action plan and a strategy against transnational organised crime.

UNODC Regional Representative Sylvie Bertrand emphasised that the threat extends beyond public health, noting that criminal groups profit from the region’s health vulnerabilities and that UNODC will continue to assist member states in building a coordinated response.

The report recommends an integrated approach that combines public‑health surveillance, criminal‑justice action and international cooperation, rather than treating these dimensions separately.

World Health Organization team lead Rutendo Kuwana reiterated WHO’s commitment to strengthening market‑surveillance systems to protect patients from substandard and falsified products.