Smuggling of Medicines: Reasons, Impact, Solutions [Archives:2000/37/Reportage]

Dr. Abdu M. Shidiwa
Smuggling in general and smuggling of medicines in particular, both are new phenomena to our country with the exception of some cases which were used to be practiced in certain border areas adjacent to our sea or land borders. Those cases were confined to smuggling of consumer goods not available at either areas.
Smuggling of medicines begun during mid of 1980 through individual action in form of (bag merchants) between Yemen and some Arab states. At first the action was limited to smuggling of shoes and garments from Egypt and Syria and also gold, watches etc. from Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.
Owing to the relative stability of the local currency compared to foreign currencies in the late of the 70s and the first half of the 80s, the Ministry of Health represented in the Higher Medicine Board used to avail medicines through authorized agents. It made it a condition that the price of each imported medicine be imprinted. This proved helpful owing to the stability of the currency and the low prices which the Board used to depend upon while registering drugs compared to the neighboring states. Drug is considered a dangerous item and needs specialized persons dealing with it. This feeling in an ordinary man, made most bag merchants, at first, shun smuggling of drugs. No sooner the gap between the local currency and other currencies, mainly the dollar, widened than these merchants appeared as smugglers of drugs. There was not any matching by the Board in the prices compared to the local currency rate with other currencies. It continued to calculate the prices based on the then official rate of YR.4/58 against the dollar whereas the market rate was YR7/05. These state of affairs made the authorized drug agents avoid importing of certain types of drugs, including basic and life-saving ones such as drugs for cancer, diabetes, blood pressure, and cardiac diseases.
This situation made those with commercial sense to monitor the drugs market in search of out of stock medicines. While doing so they depended on their long experience which they acquired in the field of retail and wholesale drug business. These commercial-sensed fellows then reverted to some experienced bag merchants.
I recall a full of esprit incident here where a commercial-sensed merchant hired the services of a bag smuggler with the purpose of smuggling Novelgin from Egypt. At that time Egypt used to manufacture this tranquilizer ; but a WHO recommendation stopped the manufacturing following cases of dangerous side effects. The hireling stuffed a reasonable quantity into his shoes. He found it to be a lucrative business. So, he turned into a drugs smuggler and gradually a licensed importer!!
Normally as time passed, drug smuggling revealed new dimensions mainly owing to the Higher Medicine Boards continued imposition of compulsory pricing added to it some unforeseen factors which have been reflected on the economic, political and social standards of the people. These factors turned drugs smuggling into an easy and profit-making business. This led quick-profit-seekers to concentrate on this business without caring about its dangerous consequences. Storing and checking the expiry dates of medicines were ignored totally.
Following are some reasons which led to the spread of medicine smuggling until this date. The situation continues to be so while the Ministry of Health did facilitate measures for registration of both the medicines and imports.
1 – The first main reason is the fall of local currency exchange rate against the dollar, sterling, mark and franc.
2 – As was the practice in the past, the Ministry of Health could have asked the government to subsidize medicines similar to that offered to food supplies. This did not happen.
3 – Insistence of the Ministry of Health on continued imposition of prices on medicines officially imported by the authorized dealers without taking any practical measures to solve the problem. Submission of letters and routine memos to the Cabinet and other appropriate authorities proved futile.
4 – Imposing official prices made authorized dealers withdraw from the market. Then a problem arose between the dealers and exporters-manufacturers where the former had to pay difference in currency rate to the dealer.
5 – The Yemen Drug Company itself could not escape the onus of fall of local currency. It was this fall which dropped its production. The Company too found itself in a miserable position to demand from its raw-material producers to bear with it. Then a question cropped up: at what rate should the company sell its products in the local market. This led to a tug-of-war between the company and the local dealers. All these problems provided an overt opportunity to the Mafia to become more active.
6 – It was never calculated that omitting drugs from the top priority list of the State would and could lead to a menace.
7 – Easy land-air-sea exit of smuggled drugs ought to have never been met with mere imposition of penalties or confiscation of such goods. But then we have to keep silent as the operation includes heavy weight dignitaries and celebrities who even escaped penalties.
8 – Why shouldnt thousands of drug stores close down if they fail to get their requirements from the Yemen Drug Company or the licensed dealers? Is it not wise to keep in contact with the Mafia to fill the shelves of their stores with good excuse of serving the consumer.
9 – The Ministry of Health proved a total failure in saving citizens life by coordinating with the Customs authorities. In fact Health inspectors should have been located at all exists. Within this context we inquire what experience do Customs boys possess in the field of medicines. How, or based on what criteria do they penalize any smuggler? or let him go scot free? Have Customs people a list of internationally controlled drugs? Surprisingly, Yemen converted into a transit for onward transmission of such drugs to neighboring countries.
10 – The idea of quick-profit out of smuggled medicine, exploitation of peoples need in the face of non-availability of medicines at official level and non-regulation of deterrent laws as well as the introduction of modern technology in form of international communications all these factors led to the emergence of medicine Mafia which formed a network of informants delegated with the task of tracing the out of stocks. Based on such information the Mafia contact South-East Asian companies to manufacture duplicate medicines bearing out of stock medicines specifications and logos. In some cases the Mafia import the replacement from neighboring states directly. Middle men then do the marketing with retail sellers. In other words a segment of the Yemeni society is now engaged in the smuggling of medicines. Peculiarly, the Ministry of Health has assisted in correcting their status through its own by-laws on Import of Medicine; but Mafia still prefer the old path.
11 – The lifeless and dull surprise checks, un-quantitative role of supervision and lack of field visits make us only sigh and condole our dead beloved ones.
12 – The State-run media never helped to fetch us out of this swamp.

(to be continued next week)

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