This article was originally published in: Securing Industry
PR: Leadership rotation at Fight the Fakes, the worldwide campaign to protect people from fake medicines
09-Feb-2017
Entering the campaign’s fourth year, Fight the Fakes is pleased to announce the rotation of its secretariat to the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (IFPW), and made possible through the support of IFPW Foundation.
Since its launch in 2013, the campaign’s secretariat has been held by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), who have built the coalition to include international bodies representing healthcare professionals, academia, NGOs, the generic and research-based pharmaceutical industry, healthcare distributers, and consumer protection organizations.
Fake medicines are a danger to public health. By circumventing medicines regulatory authorities and passing themselves off as something they are not, fake medicines put people at risk, contribute to resistance of genuine treatments and undermine confidence in health systems. Fight the Fakes arose out of consensus among partner organizations: a coordinated multi-stakeholder approach, supporting the actions of the World Health Organization (WHO) and national governments, is vital to ensure this problem is properly tackled.
In its first three years, the campaign has participated in events and workshops across the globe, produced educational materials, held media briefings for young and seasoned journalists, and worked to collect and share the stories of people who have been impacted by fake medicines worldwide. Tapping into their respective networks, Fight the Fakes partners have the potential to share these resources and testimonials with millions of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, students and people working throughout the medicines supply chain, so that all are better equipped to combat this threat.
“Protecting the security of the pharmaceutical supply chains in the markets in which they operate – and ensuring the integrity of products within them – is a core competency of IFPW’s members and a responsibility they take very seriously”, says IFPW Foundation chair Eric Zwisler. “As such, IFPW is honored to serve as the next secretariat and to continue the good work of IFPMA and the other campaign partners to keep Fight the Fakes’ momentum and to continue to raise awareness on such an important issue.”
“Fake medicines are a global problem and it is only through global collaboration and dialogue that we will be able to fight together to address it and protect future patients and the general public from harm”, added IFPW Executive VP and General Manager Chris Goetz.
“We are very pleased to have worked so closely with the Fight the Fakes secretariat these years, amplifying our ability to reach people with life-saving information,” says Quentin Duteil, Project Manager at campaign partner the Fondation Chirac. “Building on our past joint initiatives at the World Health Assembly and workshops on regulatory system strengthening in Africa, our cooperation with IFPMA in fighting fake medicines will continue. With this transition, we welcome the unparalleled supply chain expertise of IFPW at the helm of Fight the Fakes, and we are certain the campaign will continue to grow with their guidance.”
Participation in Fight the Fakes campaign is open to organizations involved in public health, already active in combating fake medicines or looking to become more engaged in raising awareness of the problem within their organizations as well as towards the public.
About Fight the Fakes
Fight the Fakes is a campaign that aims to raise awareness about the dangers of fake medicines. The campaign gives a voice to those who have been personally impacted and shares the stories of those working to put a stop to this threat to public health. It seeks to build a global movement of organizations and individuals who will shine light on the negative impact that fake medicines have on people around the globe and to reduce the negative consequences on individuals worldwide.
