The 5th and 6th November 2018 the “Regional Conference on Combating Falsified and Substandard Medicines” has been held in Phnom Penh at the instigation of the Government of Cambodia and the International Institute for Research Against Counterfeit Medicines (IRACM).
For the first time Ministerial representatives of the 5 Mekong countries (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) met together in order to achieve the common aim of
tackling and fighting falsified and substandard medicines.
It has been attended by more than 450 participants from various government institutions and the private sector. The final Declaration includes a plan of action for tougher legislation in the Mekong countries and regional cooperation including China. It focuses on: «strengthening national legislation; implementing rapid alert and recall system; developing international cooperation in fighting cross border illegal traffic».
In the coming months, three seminars will take place to prepare laws criminalizing these traffics and organizing the regional cooperation. In its conclusion, the Declaration states that in one year, a second regional ministerial conference will be held in the Asian region and will assess the progress achieved. Besides, the five other ASEAN countries (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore) will be invited to join the founding members.