Uganda looks to blockchain in counterfeit drug battle

The fight to end the flow of counterfeit drugs into Uganda is set to see a new tool in use with Ugandan President Yoweri Musevini looking to blockchain as a potential solution. The intent is to leverage the transparency of decentralized ledger technology to considerably limit opportunities for messing with supply data.

Although nothing has been decided as of now, the option to use blockchain to fight against fake drugs in Uganda was brought up in a meeting between Musevini and a blockchain figure, Verdict reports. Uebert Angel is a partner of MediConnect, which is a blockchain firm that is based in the UK. After the meeting, Angel said that the president had pledged his support for the blockchain initiative.

“Travelling to Uganda, I was shocked by the extent to which counterfeit drugs have ruined the lives of the most vulnerable people in society. It is therefore humbling to be able to make a difference by investing in the country’s pharmaceutical sector and partnering with MediConnect to identify fake dugs and prevent them from reaching end-users,” Angel said.

“In our meeting with President Musevini, he made clear his commitment to eliminating counterfeit drugs in Uganda and I am delighted that his government is interested in exploring the use of MediConnect as a national-level solution to achieve this goal.”

In a recent report, the Ugandan National Drug Authority noted that as much as 10 percent of the drugs that find their way into retailers are fake. The origins for these drugs were also thought to be from neighboring countries such as “Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

On the matter of the sellers themselves, it was pointed out that even they may not be aware of the true nature of the products they are selling. Using blockchain, this issue could be resolved since the supply data itself would be difficult to alter.