Modeling the Economic Impact of Substandard and Falsified Antimalarials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Substandard and falsified medicines pose significant risks to global health, including increased deaths, prolonged treatments, and growing drug resistance. Antimalarials are one of the most common medications to be of poor quality in low- and middle-income countries. We assessed the health and economic impact of substandard and falsified antimalarials for children less than 5 years of age in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has one of the world's highest malaria mortality rates.

Prevalence and Estimated Economic Burden of Substandard and Falsified Medicines in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance: Substandard and falsified medicines burden health systems by diverting resources to ineffective or harmful therapies, causing medical complications and prolonging illnesses. However, the prevalence and economic impact of poor-quality medicines is unclear.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the prevalence and estimated economic burden of substandard and falsified essential medicines in low- and middle-income countries.