L'Organisation mondiale de la Santé a indiqué qu' One out of 10 medical products sold in low- and middle-income countries is “of high quality” inferior or falsified” and nearly 50% of reported counterfeits come from Africa. A new ECOWAS report published in August 2023 indicated that this phenomenon is gaining momentum in the ECOWAS zone.

The new ECOWAS report entitled “Illicit trafficking in medical products in West Africa” indicated that the sale of counterfeit drugs in West Africa reaches approximately one billion US dollars, which is more than the value of the drug trade in West Africa Crude oil and cocaine combined. According to this document, illicit medical products currently represent between 20 and 60% of the official market for the entire region.