Tonnes of expired medicine, food torched

BADAKHSHAN (PAN): Tonnes of low-quality medicine and expired food were set on fire in Yawan district of northeastern Badakhshan province on Saturday, an official said.

The torched materials included a tonne of fake medicine and six tonnes of low-quality food, provincial council chief, Zabihullah Atiq, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The medicine and food had been collected from various drug stores and shops across the district, he said, calling the sale of low quality food and fake medicine a major problem facing residents of the province. “In remote areas, inexperienced health officials can not identify medicine as fake,” Atiq said.

“One of the causes behind increasing diseases among people in Badakhshan is the use of such medicine, which are not effective and instead their side effects further worsen the condition of patients,” the public representative said. He urged traders to honestly do their business and avoid import of fake drugs and low quality food to the country.

am/ma