Article: Leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure to fight fake drug menace

• It was supposed to be a simple malaria treatment. Still, for 35-year-old Kofi Owusu, a transport officer for a company in Accra, it turned into a near-death experience.

After days of high fever, vomiting, and chills, he visited a local pharmacy, popularly known as drug stores to buy antimalarial tablets. He resorted to buying artemether-lumefantrine (coartem).

Two days later, instead of recovering, Kofi’s condition worsened. His lips turned pale, his body weakened, and he struggled to breathe.

“I did everything right. I bought the medicine from a pharmacy I’ve used before,” he recalled. “But the doctors at the hospital said the drugs were fake.”

Kofi was one of thousands of Ghanaians who unknowingly consumed counterfeit or substandard medicine.

According to the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), 30–40% of drugs in circulation in parts of West Africa are either fake or of poor quality.

These medications not only fail to treat illnesses but can also cause severe complications—or even death.

A Market Flooded with Fake Drugs

The global counterfeit drug trade is a multi-billion-dollar industry, with West Africa among the hardest-hit regions.

Ghana, despite having stringent drug regulations, remains vulnerable due to porous borders, weak enforcement, and an over-reliance on manual inspection processes.

Maria-Goretti Loglo, an African consultant for the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) explained how these fake medicines infiltrate the market.

“Many of these drugs come in from countries with loose regulations. Smugglers transport them through unapproved routes, and because there’s no digital verification system, they enter pharmacies undetected,” she said.

The consequences can be fatal. In 2019, a World Health Organization (WHO) report revealed that over 100,000 deaths occur annually in Africa due to fake medicines. Malaria drugs, antibiotics, and painkillers are the most commonly counterfeited.

A Digital Solution: Can Technology End This Crisis?

Countries like Ghana and Nigeria are looking to digital solutions to fight the menace. Tech companies are taking advantage of the potential of digital public infrastructure to provide solutions.

Adebayo Alonge, the co-founder of RxAll, says his company is working with drug regulators in Ghana and Nigeria.

“Our goal is to protect people through improving the ability of national drug regulators to secure the drug supply chain. We do this by providing our platform as a service tool to drug regulators for their use in real-time drug quality checking, monitoring and reporting.”

The introduction of a QR-code-based track-and-trace system integrated with blockchain technology is being explored as a game-changer.

But this is not the only digital solution to the problem of fake medicines. FarmaTrust, a London-based company, is also using AI as well as blockchain solutions to address the problem of counterfeit medicines.

Using blockchain, the company creates a “digital twin” of the identity of each packet of drugs, which comes with a unique, machine-readable serial code. This helps them track and trace the drug’s journey, from manufacturer to consumer.

Peter Bryant, FarmaTrust’s chief operating officer, said their blockchain solution is currently the only system approved under the Falsified Medicines Directive by the European Parliament.

How it works:

Every legal medication will have a unique QR code on its packaging.

Before purchase, customers can scan the QR code using their smartphones to verify authenticity.

Blockchain technology will ensure that every drug’s movement—from manufacturing to the final sale—is securely recorded and cannot be tampered with.

Pharmacies, hospitals, and regulators can track a drug’s journey in real-time, making it easier to detect and eliminate fake supplies.

Jennifer Bonnah, Fleming Fund Fellow and Pharmacist at the Food and Drugs Authority Ghana’s FDA, believes this system could transform drug safety.

“With a digital track-and-trace system, consumers will have the power to confirm whether a drug is genuine before buying it,” he explained. “At the regulatory level, we’ll be able to pinpoint where fake drugs are entering the supply chain and take swift action.”

Challenges in Implementing Digital Drug Verification

Despite the promise, challenges remain. Limited smartphone penetration in rural areas means some consumers may struggle to scan QR codes.

Additionally, some small-scale pharmacies operate outside regulatory oversight, making enforcement difficult.

Kofi has since recovered, but thousands of others may not be so lucky.

The hope is that technology will no longer just connect people—but also save lives.

This report is produced under the DPI Africa Journalism Fellowship Programme of the Media Foundation for West Africa and Co-Develop.

Caleb Ahinakwah

The writer is a senior broadcast journalist at Asaase Radio and a DPI Fellow with the Media Foundation for West Africa.

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