Slechte medicijnen in Afghanistan (Bitter Medicine in Helmand)
Imported pharmaceuticals pose real risk to those who take them. By Gol Ahmad Ehsan - Afghanistan ARR Issue 412, 22 Oct 11 Falling ill in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan is a risky business, as the cure can be worse than the ailment itself, Residents say unregulated sales of pharmaceuticals, often administered by poorly-trained medics, pose a serious threat to people’s lives. Medicines well past their sell-by date are smuggled in from Pakistan and sold on the open market in Helmand and other parts of Afghanistan. Bahlol Khan was in his chemist’s shop in Lashkar Gah, the main town in Helmand, when a young man rushed in and asked him to come and help his mother. On arriving at the house, he discovered that the woman had lapsed into unconsciousness after taking a drip preparation her son had bought. The chemist stopped the drip and rushed the woman to hospital after spotting that the medicine was a year past its expiry date. “Those who sell expired medicines are murderers. They ...