2006年VOA标准英语-Targeting Counterfeit Drugs in Uganda

By Carolyn Weaver¹
Uganda
15 June 2006
 
watch Uganda Fake Drugs report

Stopping the sale of counterfeit² and substandard drugs is a priority for many developing countries, including Uganda. Not only are low-quality and fake drugs harmful when they fail to cure, but they also are likely to lead to drug resistance, when microbes develop the ability to fight off medication. Ugandan health officials are working on several fronts to stem the flow of fake drugs into their country.

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Apollo Muhairwe, chief executive of Uganda's National Drug Authority 
  

Apollo Muhairwe is head of Uganda's National Drug Authority, or NDA.  He says Uganda imports 80 percent of its medicines, so the NDA works both inside and outside the country to ensure quality. "Through the official ports of entry, we have a presence there, at customs,” he said in an interview at his office in Kampala.

Technicians at the NDA's central laboratory test samples of imported drugs  
  
“And then before the people import the medicines, they seek authority from us. And not only must they import medicines from authorized³ places -- which we have gone there and inspected -- but also, in the case of A.R.V.'s [antiretrovirals] and TB's and anti-malarials, even though we have checked the factories and evaluated the dossiers of the manufacturers, when the medicines come to the ports of entry, they must be analyzed⁴ batch⁵ by batch in our quality-control laboratory."

 
A man fills a prescription⁶ at a drug store in Kampala 
  
If someone tries to import a substandard or fake drug lot, Muhairwe says, the NDA’s laboratories can detect it through its sample testing program. "We have not done a study on the extent of counterfeiting⁷, so I cannot tell you it is 10 percent or 90 percent, but from the quality assurance mechanism⁸ that we have put in place, and the results we are getting in the lab, we are confident that the medicines which are available to the population are safe, of good quality and efficacious. When we pick samples and bring them to the lab, the extent of the problem seems to be minimal⁹.

Uganda doesn't have enough licensed¹⁰ pharmacies¹¹ to serve everyone   
  
Yet in a poor country like Uganda, there simply aren't enough licensed pharmacies to serve everyone, Muhairwe notes. And so poor and rural people "self-medicate," buying medicines where they can find them, and taking them as they choose. That's also a prescription for encouraging drug resistance -- a problem that experts say won’t be solved anytime soon.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

3 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

4 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

6 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

7 counterfeiting   

n.伪造v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was sent to prison for counterfeiting five-dollar bills. 他因伪造5美元的钞票被捕入狱。 来自辞典例句
• National bureau released securities, certificates with security anti-counterfeiting paper technical standards. 国家质量技术监督局发布了证券、证件用安全性防伪纸张技术标准。 来自互联网

8 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

9 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

10 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

11 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网