Imagine taking chemotherapy medicines for months, hoping to see progress, but your tumor doesn’t shrink. Not even a little. That’s exactly what might be happening in some parts of Africa. A new study published in The Lancet Global Health by US and African researchers found that nearly 1 in every 6 cancer drugs sold in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, and Cameroon could be fake or substandard, with incorrect or missing active ingredients.
The Study and Its Findings
The research team tested over 200 samples from 25 pharmacies and multiple hospitals across the four countries. The results? Around 17% of these drugs were either counterfeit or didn’t meet quality standards. That means many patients might be unknowingly taking ineffective drugs while their disease progresses.
What’s Causing This
Researchers pointed out a mix of reasons. Some drugs may have manufacturing defects. Others may have gone bad due to poor storage conditions. One major issue? You cannot spot a fake drug by just looking at it. In this study, only 1 in 4 counterfeit drugs could be caught through basic label or appearance checks.
Another reason could be the lack of access to affordable medications, which often pushes people to buy from loosely regulated suppliers. On top of that, testing chemo drugs requires highly controlled lab environments, which are either absent or not fully equipped in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The supply chains are also poorly regulated, making it tough to track and verify authenticity.
"If you can't test it, you can't regulate it. The cancer medications are difficult to handle and analyze because they're very toxic, and so many labs don't want to do that," said Marya Lieberman, the investigation's senior researcher, to DW.
This Is Not New
This is not the first time fake or substandard medicines have made headlines in Africa. In the past, forged antibiotics, antimalarial, and TB drugs have been reported. But this is the first time cancer medications have been flagged in such a large-scale study.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has already said that 1 in 10 medical products in low and middle-income countries are either substandard or falsified—a claim backed by other independent studies too.
“We are concerned with the findings the article has highlighted,” the WHO said in a statement. “We expect to assess full information to evaluate the situation... But we're committed to address these issues working with the relevant countries and partners.”
How Can This Be Fixed
The WHO recommends a three-part response: Prevention, Detection, and Response.
Prevention: It means stopping these faulty or fake drugs from being manufactured, sold, or distributed in the first place.
Detection: It involves better systems to identify which drugs are real and which aren’t.
Response: It is about quickly responding and protecting patients when such cases come to light.
Marya Lieberman, one of the senior researchers involved, told DW that her team is working on a new chemical test called “PaperLab” to detect fakes before they reach patients. Other labs are also exploring similar solutions.
Why It Matters
This study is yet another reminder of why stricter drug regulation, stronger supply chain monitoring, and better testing infrastructure are urgently needed in low and middle-income countries.
Reference:
1. Wilfinger, Maximilian J, Doohan, Jack et al. “Substandard Anticancer Medications in Clinical Care Settings and Private Pharmacies in sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Pharmaceutical Investigation.” The Lancet Global Health 13, no. 7 (June 25, 2025): e1250–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2214-109x(25)00138-x.
(Rh/Pooja Bansal/MSM/SE)