Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, UMR 216 Mere et enfant face aux infections tropicales, Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Faculte de pharmacie, Université Paris Descartes, Paris V 4 avenue de l'observatoire, 75006 Paris, France.
Soc Sci Med. 2011 Oct;73(8):1249-56. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.050. Epub 2011 Aug 5.
This anthropological study, conducted in Cotonou, Benin between 2005 and 2007, investigates the informal pharmaceuticals market. It was carried out through a long-term participant observation of informal vendors and semi-directive and unstructured interviews. A classification of products sold in the informal market was developed. The fact that a high percentage of them come from Anglophone countries near Benin (Nigeria and Ghana) led to a comparison of the sources of pharmaceutical supply in these three countries as well as their current legislation regarding pharmaceutical distribution. Our study results highlight a new understanding of the phenomenon of the informal market. Nigeria and Ghana rely on a liberal pharmaceutical distribution system with little intervention from public authorities. Conversely, the government maintains considerable influence over pharmaceutical distribution in Benin. Hence, the differences between these three countries in terms of variety of supply sources and flexibility of access to drugs are understood through an investigation of Benin's informal market. Therefore, it appears that beyond issues concerning the quality of the pharmaceuticals, this phenomenon illustrates a kind of liberalization of pharmaceutical distribution and the ensuing public health issues.
这项在贝宁科托努进行的人类学研究，于 2005 年至 2007 年期间进行，旨在调查非正规药品市场。该研究通过对非正规销售商进行长期的参与式观察、半结构化和非结构化访谈进行。研究还对非正规市场中销售的产品进行了分类。这些产品中有很大一部分来自贝宁附近的英语国家（尼日利亚和加纳），这使得我们对这三个国家的药品供应来源及其现行药品分销法规进行了比较。我们的研究结果突出了对非正规市场现象的新理解。尼日利亚和加纳依赖于自由的药品分销制度，公共当局的干预很少。相比之下，贝宁政府对药品分销保持着相当大的影响力。因此，通过对贝宁非正规市场的调查，我们可以理解这三个国家在供应来源的多样性和获取药物的灵活性方面的差异。因此，除了药品质量问题外，这一现象还说明了药品分销的自由化以及随之而来的公共卫生问题。
