The Consumer Protection Association of The Gambia (CPAG), has joined the list of international consumer organisations in strongly condemning ‘unethical drug promotion’.

The CPAG made this condemnation in observance of the World Consumer Rights Day. The CPAG asserted that consumers’ health must come first above corporate profit.

The CPAG Gambia made this condemnation yesterday at a one day validation seminar on the review of Consumer Protection-related Laws of The Gambia, alongside the commemoration of the World Consumer Rights Day at the Sun Beach Hotel in Cape Point.

In a statement issued at the seminar, Katim Touray, a member of the Consumer Protection Association of the Gambia, said the unethical drug promotion, affects mostly poor countries such as The Gambia, who are often victims of unscrupulous drug promotion programmes by wealthy multinational companies.

“World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) has had a rich history, and impacted the lives of millions of people around the world. The origin of WCRD are rooted in a 1962 declaration by John F. Kennedy, former USA President of four basic rights namely, the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose and the right to be heard.

In addition to these, the global consumer movement, through Consumer International (CI), added four rights namely the right to satisfaction of basic needs, the right to redress, the right to education and the right to a healthy environment,” he said. According to him, the UN General Assembly also adopted the UN Guideline for Consumer Protection in 1985, which was a culmination of a decade of advocacy and lobbying by Consumer International and other consumer organisations. He added that these UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection, are doubly important, because they embrace the eight consumer rights, and provide a framework for strengthening national consumer protection policies.

Mr Touray added that unethical drug promotion is a pertinent issue to be discuss because as consumers are not aware of the fact that their drug consumption choices are shaped more by corporate profit motives, than sound health care delivery. For this reason, he added, the Consumer International is working with consumer organisations around the world to hold governments and pharmaceutical companies accountable for unethical drug promotion and advertising that values corporate profits more than consumer health.

“The WCRD campaign follows up on a 2006 report on corporate responsibility and drug promotion aimed at holding them accountable for their compliance with global codes on ethical drug promotion, hold governments responsible rigorous enforcement of drug promotion regulations with a view towards protecting consumer rights to safety and information and to improve consumer access to drug and health information that is credible, reliable and transparent” he said.

According to him, despite the many unethical drug promotions, there is one thing promoters share in common which is, they can create an impression of legitimacy and independence and frequently misinform consumers about the drugs they buy which is clearly unethical.

Mr Touray stated that drug companies also promote false or misleading claims about drugs, deliberate suppress risks and adverse side effect of their drugs and provide financial incentives to doctors who prescribed their patients. The consequence of these unethical practices, he said, often is irrational drug use by consumers, increased health risk and sometimes fatalities. He then stated that the response in The Gambia towards unethical drug promotions must be seen and urged every one to join the battle for greater awareness of, respect for and enforcement of consumer rights and protection in The Gambia.

For her part, Fatou Kinteh, a member of CPAG said drug companies are money making corporations with the aim of making profits. She noted that the over-arching aim of corporate drug promotion is also to increase profits by rising consumer demand for pharmaceutical products.

According to her, consumers have every right to know about everything regarding the drugs they take assuring that CPAG will forge partnership with relevant government institutions and departments in protecting the right of consumers in The Gambia.

Dr Omar Touray, a member of CPAG also assured that CPAG will continue to endeavour to be the leading advocate for the voice of the consumer rights and to contribute and ensure that consumers are provided with quality and sound products.

Baba Mustapha Marong, Coordinator of the Gambia Interface Capacity Building Project (GICAP), assured of his institution’s resolve commitment to collaborate with CPAG. He noted that consumer rights and protection issues needs to be brought to the attention of states and governments noting that citizens also have a role to play in order to partner with the states in informing and influencing public policy and creating knowledge and communities of practices that will enable them to make inform choices in the market.