Thieves that divert medicines from government stores prevent many thousands of patients from receiving care. The article below suggests that thieves are also calculating in that they only steal medicines nearing their expiration date. Such thoughtful thefts are great stock controllers but why would they loot government stores of near-expired medicines? If the purpose of the act is to resell medicines then “fresh” medicines would fetch a better price than those nearing expiration? It just does not make sense, does it? The article also suggests that stolen medicines are transported by ship from East African ports to West Africa. From Dar Es Salaam to Lagos is 5035 nautical miles around the tip of southern Africa and a vessel travelling at 14 knots would take 15 days. That’s a 15 day reduction in the life of the medicine and many medicines are sure to be expired by the time they reach Lagos. If expired medicines are landing on the shores of Nigeria why are officials not blocking their entry? The answer is multifaceted and it suggests that the networks coordinating such activities are trans-African and that they are protected and facilitated by strategically positioned and influential individuals. The answer is also linked to the lack of donor organization oversight of medicines purchased for patients in developing countries which is partly a function of what is being measured. That which is measured is known and that which is known is monitored. We’re always happy to know that an additional million dollars of life-saving medicines was purchased and supplied to a certain country. We measure the success based on the “additional million dollars” spent, issue press releases, and stop. Seldom do we hear something like this, an additional million dollars of medicines was bought AND consumed by the targeted patients. This second portion is far more difficult and is a significant gap in what we measure and how we monitor donor organization activities in developing countries. Plug this gap with systems to improve accountability and ensure target groups are reached and we’ll be well on our way to reducing the effectiveness of medicine thefts and their strategically positioned and influential facilitators.

Africa’s Stolen-Drug Problem