Health ministry stops sales of some malarial drugs

The ministry of health says it has stopped the sales of certain drugs according to a resolution by the WHO to control drugs in the country, an official has said.

The Director General for Drugs and Food Control Dr. Peter Aguek says some of those drugs have been proved to be harmful to human health.

He says the WHO has given the ministry list of specified drugs that should not be used to treat certain diseases.

“WHO will give us a list that some specific drug has been withdrawn for malaria treatment, and then as a government we withdraw that medication from the medicines prescribed for malaria treatment,” said r Dr Aguek.

He advised Pharmacists and medical practitioners in the country to avoid giving out medicines to patients without prior approval from a doctor.

In 2007, WHO Member States adopted World Health Assembly resolution WHA 60.18 which calls for a progressive removal of oral artemisinin-based monotherapies from markets.

The continued use of oral artemisinin-based monotherapies is considered to be a major contributing factor to the development of resistance to artemisinin derivatives.