Oman's Ministry of Health Launches Nationwide Campaign to Combat Counterfeit Medical Products
Key Insights
Oman's Ministry of Health, through its Drug Safety Center (search), has launched a nationwide awareness campaign targeting counterfeit and substandard medical products across all segments of society.
The campaign responds to growing e-commerce risks, consumer exploitation, and rising demand for unverified supplements, slimming products, and stimulants.
Counterfeit medical products pose direct threats including treatment failure, serious health complications, and in critical cases, death.
Oman's Ministry of Health (MoH), represented by the Drug Safety Center (search) (DSC), has launched a comprehensive nationwide awareness campaign aimed at monitoring and safeguarding against the risks of counterfeit and low-quality medical products. The initiative, carrying the message "Be aware, verify before use and report any suspicious product," seeks to raise the efficiency of safe and responsible use of medical products among all segments of society and healthcare sector workers.
The campaign embodies the pivotal role undertaken by the Drug Safety Center (search) as the regulatory and supervisory authority at the Ministry of Health, reinforcing the principle that the safety of medical products is a shared responsibility.
Drivers Behind the Campaign
The launch comes in response to several contemporary challenges. The growth of e-commerce has led to an expansion of unreliable digital platforms for selling medical products. Concurrently, consumer exploitation has been observed, with individuals rushing after low-cost or quickly accessible products without verifying their safety. The Ministry also noted a noticeable rise in the popularity of slimming products, dietary supplements, and stimulants, creating a fertile environment for the circulation of counterfeit and non-conforming medical products.
Target Audiences and Program Components
The awareness campaign targets various groups across society and the health sector, with a particular focus on chronic disease patients, youth, and health professionals, alongside educational and media institutions, content creators, and medical product distribution outlets.
The campaign encompasses a series of awareness, training, and educational programs, including introductory meetings for the Center's staff and focal points in the governorates. An open day for the public is scheduled for July 2, featuring participation from various health entities. Additionally, training workshops will be conducted for medical cadres and medical device engineers. Digital platforms and various media outlets will carry awareness programs to enhance understanding of mechanisms for verifying medical products and to combat misleading advertisements and unscientific recommendations.
Health Risks of Counterfeit Products
The Drug Safety Center (search) emphasized that counterfeit medicines, devices, and medical supplies pose a direct threat to patients' health and safety. These risks extend beyond poor efficacy or failure to achieve the desired medical purpose. According to the Center, such products may lead to serious health complications due to non-compliance with quality, safety, and performance requirements, and may cause delays in treatment, worsen health conditions, or, in some critical cases, lead to death.
Counterfeit medical products may appear genuine but can contain incorrect ingredients, improper dosages, or misleading packaging, potentially putting patients at serious risk.
Regulatory Framework and Surveillance
The Drug Safety Center (search) maintains a strict regulatory system that begins before a medical product reaches the market. This includes product registration, verification of manufacturing plants of origin, auditing of raw materials used, and testing of storage and manufacturing conditions, extending to precise laboratory analyses.
Monitoring the safety of medical products is a continuous process throughout the product's life cycle. The Center relies on reports received from community members and medical cadres, in parallel with monitoring warnings issued by international regulatory bodies, to take immediate and decisive decisions to recall any product proven to pose risks.
Community Partnership and Reporting
The Center stressed that the real key to the success of this awareness campaign relies on active community partnership. Health officials have called on everyone to make conscious health decisions, rely on official sources, and take the initiative to report any suspicious products or practices. Consumers are urged to obtain medicines and medical equipment only from licensed pharmacies and authorized healthcare providers, and to check packaging, expiry dates, and product information while seeking professional medical advice whenever doubts about a product's authenticity arise.
Through this campaign, the Ministry hopes to foster a culture of informed and responsible medicine use while protecting patients from avoidable health risks associated with fake medical products.