Fake and substandard drugs are a huge global problem. According to a recent report released by WHO in 2017 "1 in 10 medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified.” (WHO, 2017) . This obviously has many unfortunate consequences for the mainly poor/disadvantaged people in these countries. Their health is seriously compromised and in addition to their original illnesses they risk serious complications by the administered fake and substandard drugs. It is not only the patients who are afflicted by this huge problem. The good name and timely efforts of the scientists and medical corporations working hard to develop proper medications are brought in vain. Not to speak of the great frustrations the many doctors, striving daily to improve the health of their patients, are suffering when they experience their patients´ health deteriorate further despite their best attempts at alleviating their health problems.
Recently in the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq, inspired by his medical oath to honour and protect the health and lives of his patients, the regionally well-known and respected orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Bakhtyar Baram, could no longer keep silent about the suffering of his patients due to fake and substandard drugs. In an attempt to bring some attention to this grievous problem, in a television show he publicly called on the relevant national authorities to better address this problem. What he never had expected was that he later the same night was attempted murdered for his honest utterances. Gang members made a vicious attempt at killing Dr. Bakhtyar Baram for his utterances. The shocked doctor luckily survived the vicious attack, but had subsequently no other choice than to flee the country immediately fearing for his life.
This recent story from our world of today surely illustrates that there are indeed evil powers in high offices out there who don´t hesitate to even kill in order to keep the big business of fake drugs running smoothly. We however cannot bear to remain silent about these important issues no more. As we are currently not aware of any other organizations working to address this problem, we hope that by establishing this organization, IOEFM, we can take part in the struggle for better health care in our world. Anyone who feels the same is most welcome to join us in this struggle.
https://www.who.int/en/news-room/detail/28-11-2017-1-in-10-medical-products-in-developing-countries-is-substandard-or-falsified
