When streets become pharmacies: Booming illicit markets in Central Africa

Antibiotics, malaria treatments, painkillers, opioids. More than 250 tonnes of medical products were seized over six years in Central Africa. Behind those numbers is an illicit market that thrives not simply despite the region’s fragile health systems, but in part because of them.When medicines are scarce, unaffordable or simply too far away, illicit sellers have proved adept at filling the void.That is the dynamic described in a new report released Tuesday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The illicit trade extends far beyond falsified drugs. It includes genuine medicines diverted from legitimate supply chains, unapproved products and drugs smuggled across borders.251 tonnes seizedFrom 2020 through 2025, authorities seized 251 tonnes of medical products in Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic and Chad. Annual seizures rose from about five tonnes in 2020 to nearly 116 tonnes in 2024, before exceeding 97 tonnes in 2025.The United Nations cautioned against interpreting the increase as a straightforward measure of the trade’s growth. Larger seizures can reflect both greater trafficking and more aggressive enforcement, and the available da...