For me, working in an NGO, it is very interesting to observe the 'charity' or 'non-profit' initiatives of the business sector. Those are all called 'investments in the future' and benefit the company as much as the general public (nothing wrong with that, I guess, or is it?).
Tanzania does not seem to be soooo interesting for investments by the big international companies, but yesterday it was Merck, Germany, who made it to the front pages of the newspapers. The title in the Guardian was 'War against fake drugs gets boost' and Merck, through its Global Pharma Health Fund, donated five mobile compact-laboratories for detecting inferior and counterfeit medicines.
Fake drugs are a big problem in Tanzania, with Interpol reporting that as much as 30% of all drugs are fake. Still, I somehow doubt that mini-labs are going to change the situation dramatically. I mean, people are not buying fake drugs because they like them, but because the real ones are a) not accessible in the countryside, including major hospitals and clinics, b) so expensive that only a well-situated person can afford them. A usual set of vitamins from Europe or America costs about a quarter of a monthly salary of a cleaning lady. And a box of antibiotics from the West costs about half of her salary... So drugs produced in India or Asia are the only realistic alternative for majority of Tanzanians, and most of them are of a really good quality. 70% of them, anyway...
So, thank you, Merck, for the mini-labs, but maybe the pharma industries could start some kind of 'adjusting the price' talks?
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