According to the World Health Organization (WHO), two billion people lack access to essential medicines, which facilitates the circulation of adulterated products whose ingestion can cause health problems for users and put their bodies at risk.
In this regard, the UN health agency warned that these medicines may contain no or incorrect amounts of active ingredients, representing a significant danger to public health.
Among the factors that promote this problem is the e-commerce of medicines through unauthorized sources that aggravate the consequences, in addition to problems in global supply chains that contribute to the distribution of these unauthorized products.
In view of this situation, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the importance of only purchasing drugs through approved pharmacies and under the supervision of health professionals, which is crucial to ensure the safety and efficacy of treatments.
The WHO remarked that when medicines do not work as they should, they not only fail to treat or prevent disease, but also lead to a loss of trust in medicines and healthcare providers.
This phenomenon generates a negative socioeconomic impact, contributing to lost productivity and adding costs to the healthcare system.
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