Botswana medicines regulator destroys 2.8 tonnes of illegal drugs
The Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority condemned more than 20,000 units of unauthorised medicines after a multi-agency campaign in late October.
Botswana's Medicines Regulatory Authority, known as BoMRA, has condemned and destroyed 2.8 tonnes of illegal and unauthorised medicinal products worth more than P500,000. The seizures were announced on 5 November and capped a campaign that ran from 23 to 30 October at border posts and trading points, including Martin's Drift Border Gate, Palapye, the Mamuno Border Gate, Kasane, Kazungula and Pandamatenga.
BoMRA worked alongside Port Health, Environmental Health, the Botswana Unified Revenue Service and the Botswana Police Service, checking trading facilities, street vendors and vehicles including trucks, public transport and private cars. More than 20,000 units were destroyed, among them prescription-only medicines, skin-lightening creams, tablets, soaps, oils and codeine-containing cough syrups. BoMRA oversaw the destruction to keep the products out of the supply chain.
BoMRA stressed that medicinal products for human or veterinary use must be registered and separately authorised for import before they can be legally imported, distributed or supplied. Registration alone does not authorise importation, and the authority said unauthorised products are risky because their quality, safety and efficacy have not been properly established.
Why it mattersBotswana's registered medicine importers and distributors must obtain separate import authorisation, and unauthorised products are being seized and destroyed.