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Contributions from
the Column
Monitor
Multistakeholder initiatives: No substitute for multilateral policy-marking
Good evaluation grades for KfW
Climate change: Germany supports poor countries
Fighting corruption in the pharma trade
In dealing with Iran old and new lines of conflict loom
"Human Development Report 2006: Water crisis worse than war
Corruption: The World Bank suspends Lahmeyer
Asia on track for Millennium Goals
12/2006
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Fighting corruption in the pharma trade
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the British government want to take action against corruption in the international trade in pharmaceuticals. According to the London-based Guardian, the UK Department for International Development (DfID) is working on an initiative to make prices of drugs transparent from production to the end user, in an attempt to clarify where exactly and why prices rise significantly in the supply chain. The newspaper reports that the objective of the Medical Transparency Alliance (META) will be to put an end to price hikes and the corrupt practices that often cause them. Meta will follow the model of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which DfID brought into being in 2002. EITI was designed to disclose payment flows in transactions concerning oil, gas and other commodities. So far, it has only been moderately successful, with only two of 21 signatory countries having published reports yet.
The World Health Organisation wants to create a network of anti-corruption and pharma experts, which will support countries in the fight against malpractices in medical procurement. According to the WHO, up to 25% of the drugs traded internationally never reach the patients they are meant for, and are stolen or misappropriated instead. Corruption also occurs in the registration of medicines. For example, registration officials may take bribes and then approve untested medications. They may also draw out the registration process to extort payments from suppliers. A WHO press report states that pharma-related corruption affects all countries. Nonetheless, the WHO initiative will focus on developing countries in particular. (ell)
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