Fake medicines flourish in Africa despite killing thousands

This file photo taken on March 10, 2017 at the cemetery of Abobo district of Abidjan shows fake medecine bearing Chinese character as people unload boxes of counterfeit drugs from a truck.

NAIROBI, KENYA: There’s nothing covert about Roxy - a huge market in Abidjan selling counterfeit medicine, the scourge of Africa and the cause of around 100,000 deaths annually on the world’s poorest continent.

Located in the bustling Adjame quarter of Ivory Coast’s main city and commercial hub, the haven for fake medicine has been targeted time and again by authorities and stockpiles burnt.