Inappropriate donations to South East Asia (2)
----------------------------------------------
Dear e-druggers:
The PSF report on inappropriate drug donations in Southeast Asia is
discouraging, but we must not lose sight of the fact that donations from major relief and development agencies have conformed to the WHO Guidelines on Drug Donations, which is to say they are being sent in response to expressed need and are being delivered by competent people.
While it is true, as PSF noted, that ample pharmaceutical production
capacity exists in Southeast Asia, it is also apparent, as Murtada Sesay of UNICEF suggests, that the need was not being met by local industry. PQMD agencies received a great many requests for assistance from MOHs and other authoritative bodies, and we responded accordingly.
Still, bad donations must be addressed. As a signatory to the WHO
Guidelines, we were heartened by the finding of a 2002 World Bank-WHO study of emergency donations to four nations that no inappropriate donations came from major pharmaceutical companies or their experienced NGO partners. Most bad donations originated with inexperienced NGOs, local wholesalers or distant governments dumping products they could not use or sell. Granted, this is one study, but it is one of the very few that went beyond measuring the problem to identifying those responsible.
Clearly, we need to identify and educate organizations that make bad
donations. To that end, it would be helpful if, on discovering an inappropriate donation, observers would examine the paperwork, pinpoint the source and report it to the WHO Department of Medicines Policy and Standards. We at PQMD would welcome such reports as well, so that we can offer sound donation practice guidance to such organizations.
James B. Russo
Executive Director
The Partnership for Quality Medical Donations
146 Koenig Rd.
Bernville, PA 19506
USA
jbrusso@pqmd.org
610 488 8303
610 488 7036 (fax)