Central Africa: When Streets Become Pharmacies - Booming Illicit Markets in Central Africa

What the report says

A new UN Office on Drugs and Crime report, published with the World Health Organization and the Central African economic bloc CEMAC, says illicit medicine markets are expanding across Central Africa in ways tied to weak access to care. The report, summarized by UN News and distributed by AllAfrica, focuses on Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Gabon, the Central African Republic and Chad, where medicines are often scarce, costly or difficult to reach.

According to the report, authorities seized 251 tonnes of medical products from 2020 through 2025, with annual seizures rising sharply over the period. The items included antibiotics, antimalarial drugs, painkillers and psychoactive substances such as tramadol and pregabalin. UNODC says the trade is not limited to counterfeit drugs: it also includes genuine medicines diverted from legal channels, unapproved products and cross-border smuggling. The report describes a trafficking network that uses sea, river, air and road routes and involves sellers, couriers, health workers, corrupt officials and, in some cases, armed groups.

The UN report argues that the market persists because formal health systems are not meeting demand. It cites high disease burdens, long travel times to hospitals and prices that put some medicines out of reach for low-income households. Consumers sometimes turn to informal vendors because they can buy small quantities at lower prices than in pharmacies.

The findings matter because falsified or substandard medicines can lead to treatment failure, poisoning, death and wider antimicrobial resistance. The report calls for stronger laws, better cross-border cooperation and, importantly, greater access to safe, affordable medicines so enforcement does not simply push patients back into an unregulated market.