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. 2024 Dec 12:12:1353516.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1353516. eCollection 2024.

The pharmaceutical suitcase trade and the need for multisectoral regulation-unproven COVID-19 (Ivermectin and HCQ remedies unmask an insidious health danger in a Caribbean Island)

Sandeep Bhupendra Maharaj  1 , Darren Dookeeram  1 , Roger Hosein  2 , Kelvin Ramkissoon  3 , Amrica Ramdass  4 , Darleen Y Franco  5 , Shalini Pooransingh  1
Affiliations

The pharmaceutical suitcase trade and the need for multisectoral regulation-unproven COVID-19 (Ivermectin and HCQ remedies unmask an insidious health danger in a Caribbean Island)

Sandeep Bhupendra Maharaj et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Ivermectin; health in all policy; pharmaceutical regulation; public health; suitcase trade.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pharaceutical goods trade forecast 2022.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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