A civil society organisation organised a workshop in Awing in the North West Region on Tuesday June 5, 2012.

The sale and consumption of counterfeit medicines is evil and the villages of Awing and Bamock in the North West Region have resolved to end the practice that kills. The consequence of consuming such drugs was the subject of a documentary by the Martin Luther King Memorial Foundation (LUKMEF) on June 5, 2012 in Awing. It was projected in a workshop during which participants blamed the evil on poverty, ignorance and corrupt practices.

The facilitator, Tanyi Christian, was commended for the initiative that helped in sensitizing the public on the evil. It emerged from the workshop that the Fons of Awing and Bamock initially raised alarm over the killer nature of the practice. They revealed how the obnoxious practice had claimed lives. They cited the case of one Awing woman who recently died in Douala. It was against this backdrop that LUKMEF signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Santa District Medical Officer to guarantee the regular supply of affordable drugs to the concerned communities.

Tanyi Christian also told participants that the creation of neighbourhood food cooperatives in the village will help to check the unscrupulous exploitation of local farmers and alleviate poverty. The advantage, according to Christian, is to improve the people’s incomes, thus enabling them to afford good healthcare.

Around to chair the initiative, the Chief Medical Officer for Santa, Dr. Teboh Charles urged the people to report all cases of corrupt practices in the sector. He sensitised them on the need to seek immediate and appropriate medical care in the early stages of illness. It was a great day as Awing and Bamock committed to check out counterfeit drugs from their communities as dealing in such drugs is illegal and criminal.