Maharaj Sandeep Bhupendra, Dookeeram Darren, Hosein Roger, Ramkissoon Kelvin, Ramdass Amrica, Franco Darleen Y, Pooransingh Shalini
Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies St. Augustine, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Economics, The University of the West Indies St. Augustine, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
Front Public Health. 2024 Dec 12;12:1353516. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1353516. eCollection 2024.
This article seeks to highlight an aspect of the illegal pharmaceutical trade in the Caribbean. With the advent of COVID-19 there has been a shortage of a number of drugs in the formal sector. This is largely due to restrictions on foreign exchange, importation delays and sensationalized reporting of unrecommended drugs having a curative effect on COVID-19 patients. This article examines the issue of "the informal suitcase trading" of these drugs. It posits a need for a collaborative and multi-sectoral approach to mitigate the negative effects of the practice on health, trade and national security.
本文旨在突出加勒比地区非法药品贸易的一个方面。随着新冠疫情的出现,正规部门出现了多种药品短缺的情况。这主要是由于外汇限制、进口延误以及对未被推荐但对新冠患者有治疗效果的药物的耸人听闻的报道。本文探讨了这些药品“非正式手提箱交易”的问题。它提出需要采取协作性的多部门方法,以减轻这种做法对健康、贸易和国家安全的负面影响。