UN report: 251 tonnes of medical products seized in Central Africa over six years

Authorities in five Central African countries seized 251 tonnes of medical products between 2020 and 2025, according to a report released on Tuesday 6 October 2026 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Annual seizures rose from about five tonnes in 2020 to nearly 116 tonnes in 2024, before exceeding 97 tonnes in 2025. The report covers Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic and Chad.

The United Nations cautioned against interpreting the increase as a straightforward measure of the trade's growth. According to the report, larger seizures can reflect both greater trafficking and more aggressive enforcement, and the available data vary considerably among countries and from year to year.

Cameroon accounted for nearly all of the seizures recorded in 2025, with 96 tonnes intercepted, compared with 2.5 tonnes five years earlier. The products intercepted across the region range from antibiotics, antimalarial and anti-inflammatory drugs to painkillers and psychoactive substances such as tramadol and pregabalin. The report states the trade includes falsified drugs, genuine medicines diverted from legitimate supply chains, unapproved products and drugs smuggled across borders.

"The report outlines a multimodal trafficking system that uses maritime, riverine, air and road routes and involves a broad range of actors," said Sylvie Bertrand, UNODC's regional representative for West and Central Africa. The report was produced with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). It suggests the roots of the trade are partly beyond the reach of law enforcement.

The report links the market to gaps in formal health care. In 2023, the WHO's universal health-coverage index, which measures access to health care, placed all six countries in the Central African economic bloc among the world's poorest performers, with Chad scoring 26 out of 100 against a global average of 71. In the Central African Republic and Chad, more than half the population lived at least two hours from a public hospital providing emergency care, according to data cited in the report. In Chad, a prefilled insulin syringe cost the equivalent of nearly 16 days' wages for the lowest-paid government employee.

Consumers in the Central African Republic told researchers that informal sellers allowed them to "buy one or two tablets", the report said. Under those circumstances, the report says, buying medicine on the street can become less an alternative to the formal health system than a necessity.