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Falsified medical products: The role of education in tackling this parallel pandemic

 

Date
Wednesday, 2 December 2020
Host
Time (CET)
14:00 - 15:30
Language
English
 

As the coronavirus pandemic ripples across the globe, a parallel but lesser-known crisis is growing in its' shadow: the rise of substandard and falsified medical products claiming to prevent, detect, treat, and even cure COVID-19.

Since 11 March 2020, the day that the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, millions of dollars’ worth of falsified medical products have been seized by law enforcement agencies. Operating both online and offline, criminals are exploiting fearful populations, shortages of drugs and personal protective equipment caused by the crisis.

Substandard and falsified medical products are not a new problem. Rather, they are a persistent issue that heightens in times of crisis. They may fail to treat or may worsen disease and in worst-case scenarios can lead to death. The fight against this parallel pandemic starts with raising public awareness, including through education and training. This panel discussion revolved around the role of education in tackling this global problem.

 

Panellists

Moderator

Flavia Romiti

Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, UNODC

Flavia Romiti currently serves as a Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer in the Organized Crime Branch of UNODC, particularly under the Education for Justice (E4J) initiative. Prior to her current position, Flavia worked with UNDP in Cuba, collaborated with Amnesty International in Italy and in The Netherlands and interned with the UN Security Council Affairs Division in New York as well as the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. She holds a master’s degree in International Relations and a Master of Law from Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam.

@flavia_romiti

Education to tackle the spread of misinformation around medical products

Oksana Pyzik

Founder of University College London (UCL) Fight the Fakes & Lecturer, UCL School of Pharmacy

Oksana Pyzik is a Lecturer and Global Engagement Lead at the University College London (UCL), School of Pharmacy, and since 2015 has led the open course "Outbreak of Infectious Disease & Global Citizenship Programme" focusing on epidemics & pandemics. Throughout the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, Oksana has been a regular contributor in the media as well as advising global health NGOs. As the Founder of the academic chapter of UCL Fight the Fakes campaign, she works with global partners to raise awareness around the growing global health threat of substandard and falsified medical products through advocacy, education, research and public engagement.

@OksanaPyzikUCL | @UCLFightsFakes
 

Xiumei Wang

Professor, College for Criminal Law Science, Beijing Normal University

Dr. Xiumei Wang is currently Vice-Dean and Professor of law at the College for Criminal Law Science of Beijing Normal University. She is also the Vice-President of China Association of Integrity and Law as well as the Vice-President of the International Association of Penal Law.

www.bnu.edu.cn
 

Adebayo Alonge

Pharmacist, RxAll Inc.

Adebayo Alonge founded RxAll, Inc. a platform that provides drug testing and delivery services to hospitals, pharmacies and patients in Africa. He became a Pharmacist with the mission of ensuring that everyone has access to safe quality medicines, driven by his own survival of a coma from a falsified medicine and his passion to ensure no one else experiences the same trauma. Adebayo has 10+ years market development experience in the pharma industry and business degrees from the Yale school of management and the Lagos Business School. He is a deferred 2022 MPA/Mason Fellow candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School.

https://www.rxall.net/ | https://twitter.com/RxAll_Inc
 

Hasitha Senevirathne

Student and Deputy Secretary General 2019, THIMUN Qatar

Hasitha Senevirathne served as a Deputy Secretary General of THIMUN Qatar 2019 Conference and played a prominent role in establishing the CCPCJ as a committee at THIMUN Qatar. Hasitha also acted as an advisor to the leadership of CCPCJ at THIMUN 2020, where 'Measures to tackle trafficking in falsified medical products' was one of the issues on the Agenda. A former student of Mesaieed International School, Hasitha is currently pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Glasgow and wants to ensure a future where every individual is able to safely benefit from modern medical equipment and healthcare technologies.

https://qatar.thimun.org/

 

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