An estimated one in 10 medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries like India is either "substandard or falsified", says a new research report from the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to WHO, these medicines not only fail to treat or prevent diseases but can also cause serious illness or even death. "Substandard and falsified medicines particularly affect the most vulnerable communities," said the WHO Director-General. The report highlighted that since 2013, the WHO has received 1,500 reports of cases of substandard or falsified products.
Of these, antimalarials and antibiotics are the most commonly reported. Most of such reports (42 percent) come from the WHO African Region, 21 percent from the WHO Region of the Americas, and 21 percent from the WHO European Region. "This is likely just a small fraction of the total problem and many cases may be going…
