While most African countries have weathered the COVID-19 storm with more endurance than the rest of the world expected, the lessons learned of the pandemic make it that public health can no longer be placed in the backseat. 

By 2050, Africa’s population is expected to have nearly doubled compared to its current figure.

Such projections beg the question of providing African citizens with access to healthcare, in alignment with the sustainable development goals. 

With access to healthcare, one usually thinks of the proximity of health facilities or the cost of receiving treatments. But in a continent where 42% of medicines and pharmaceutical products are reported as counterfeited, public health is also a matter of public safety. 

An international scourge, counterfeiting and trade of fake medicines and pharmaceutical products represent a threat to African lives directly and indirectly. Each year, over 116 000 malaria related deaths are attributed to fake anti-malaria medication. The business of fake medicines is a lucrative one: it is estimated that its global market value could amount to USD 200 billion. With such amounts, counterfeiters fund criminal organizations and enterprises, including terrorism which still impacts some regions in Africa. 

Governments and brands alike agree that counterfeiting must be stopped: but a fragmentation of solutions only further impedes their capacity to fight the fakes. At OriginAll, we are working with the African Continental Free Trade Area’s Secretariat - the world’s largest free trade zone by number of countries’ - to develop tailored solutions to transform African healthcare systems. OriginAll empowers people to make better safer product choices while accelerating stakeholder transparency, accountability and auditability.