In their 30 October 2005 newsletter the Pharmaciens Sans Frontières Comité

International (PSF-CI - see www.psfci.org) reports on its assessment of

medicine donations to Banda Aceh province in Indonesia after the 26 December

2004 tsunami:

* medicines were donated by 140 donors, of which 53 were national

organisations and 48 were international organisations from 39 countries

* 4000 tonnes of medicine were received for a population of less than 2

million people

* medicines were labelled in more than 16 foreign languages

* nearly 60% were not on the national List of Essential Drugs

* 10% had expired before they reached Banda Aceh

* 30% were due to expire in less than 6 months or had missing expiry dates

* those medicine that were approriate were received in quantities equivalent

to 6-8 years' use

* 345 tonnes (1150 cubic metres) have been identified for destruction, which

will cost an estimated Euro 1.4 million (75 cubic metres of donated

medicines were destroyed in February 2005)

PSF-Germany has also noted that the same problems are now being experienced

in Pakistan. The same happened previously in the Albania (50% of donation

lists sent to the Albanian Ministry of Health during May 1999 only mentioned

trade names, many of which were unknown to local health professionals; only

56% included information on shelf-life, of which about 41% of the drugs had

a remaining shelf-life of less than one year; and 18% of donations contained

small packs of free samples or drugs returned to pharmacies), Bosnia (a 1997

study by Epicentre and Pharmaciens Sans Frontières estimated that 50-60% of

drugs donated in Bosnia were inappropriate), Rwanda, Somalia and Honduras.

The cost of destruction is high - incinerators had to be sent to Mostar in

1996 and Armenia in 1988 by Médecins Sans Frontières to dispose of

unsuitable donations. Pierre Chirac noted in 1999 that the only other

alternative was to ship such drugs to another country, estimating that it

would cost US$2-4 million to ship 1000 metric tons of inappropriate

pharmaceuticals and medical supplies from Croatia for appropriate disposal.

Last update - 18/11/05