Conference on West African Sub-regional and Inter-agency Collaboration in the Fight Against Counterfeit and Pirated Products

On July 21, 2008, a distinguished group of anti-counterfeit stakeholders convened in Accra, Ghana, for a novel sub-regional anti-counterfeit conference involving regulators, government officials, consumer associations and the local and international pharmaceutical industries. The well-attended event, showed a significant update in the high-level anti-counterfeit strategies typically practiced in the West-African sub-region. Consumers are being implored more than ever to assist in jointly decimating the prevalence of fake products on the market.
The major partners for the event were the European Union Business Climate Facility, the Ghana Food and Drugs Board, the Institute of Packaging Ghana and the business Coalition Against Counterfeit and Illicit Trade (CACIT), of which mPedigree is a member. BCACIT is an emergent action-based workgroup for drafting and seeking the implementation of anti-counterfeit policies for high level decision makers. CACIT has been "setup to seek the enforcement of intellectual property laws, copyrights, patents, and trademark protection, and licensing laws, in order to protect consumers from counterfeit and pirated products and all other forms of illicit trade, thereby defending the integrity of member organization brands."¹ The Hon. Minister for Presidential Affairs, and Chief of Staff to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana launched the CACIT website at the event.
The theme for the event, "Protecting the Consumer against Counterfeit Products through Inter-Agency and Sub-Regional Collaboration" shows a marked shift in strategy, realizing the potential good consumers can do if they routinely provided intelligence to regulators and law-enforcing agencies. This new boost in sensitizing consumers about fake products is very welcome, and mPedigree hopes suitable technology is chosen. The tip-off is a citizen's civic duty, and an automated tip-off via back-end SMS metadata analysis transparently taking place when a consumer authenticates a product should definitely assist members of the public in performing the said civic duty.
The conference employed a variety of interaction media, ranging from drama performances to more traditional talks, slide presentations open forums and Q&A sessions. At the beginning of the conference, participants settled in to mPedigree's well-received documentary, If Symptoms Persist. Representatives from Francophone and East African drug agencies were present to provide broader perspectives on counterfeiting in sub-Saharan Africa.
Several examples of products confiscated from the market were on display for conference participants to examine the latest trends in counterfeiting.

The presentations can be accessed at the CACIT Conference Portal:

Visit conference portal on BCACIT.com »

Photo Gallery

The conference provided a high-level audience from all the relevant anti-counterfeit and anti-piracy stakeholder groups.
Speeches were given providing the government's view point.
Regulatory and Global Health partners provided key insight on anti-counterfeit initiatives.
Civil society and advocates of consumer rights made interesting revelations on the state of affairs as perceived by the general public.
Legal experts provided a coherent and detailed image of the disincentives for counterfeiting.
Local and global pharmaceutical industry gave an update on cutting-edge anti-counterfeit efforts. MPedigree presented and demonstrated its technology.
The Abibigoromma drama troupe provided an entertaining play on a sting operation at a fictitious corrupt pharmacy shop. The play highlighted the need for civil society to proactively provide intelligence to law enforcement and regulatory agencies.
The event provided a common meeting ground for group discussions regarding anti-counterfeit and anti-piracy issues affecting government, industry and civil society. These discussions yielded a press communique and an actionable roadmap.
On display were several examples of products victimized by counterfeiting. In many cases, the difference between the fake and the genuine product was virtually impossible to determine without special training in product security. One counterfeit product happened to have more attractive packaging than its genuine counterpart.
The conference provided several opportunities for less formal stakeholder interactions.

Media Reactions

• Sep.3.2008: Ghana Loses $200m Annually Through Importation Of Counterfeit Products
• Aug.31.2008: Fighting Fake Drugs With Technology
• Jul.24.2008: West African conference to eradicate counterfeits

Partners

MPedigree continues to enjoy close working relationships with the Ghana Food and Drugs Board, the Institute of Packaging Ghana and is a member of the EU/BizClim-funded Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Illicit Trade (CACIT), Ghana.