Unlike the opioid crisis in the United States, which was driven largely by domestic pharmaceutical marketing, much of West Africa’s supply of abused opioids has reportedly originated from India’s pharmaceutical export industry. Prescription drugs such as tramadol, codeine, and tapentadol are now deeply embedded in illegal street markets across the region, where poverty, unemployment, and weak governance have left many young people vulnerable to substance abuse.
Investigations have revealed that Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers exported enormous quantities of high-strength opioids into West Africa, often exploiting regulatory loopholes and weak oversight. More than 320 million tapentadol pills were reportedly shipped to West Africa between 2023 and 2025, with the total export value increasing from roughly $27 million during 2020-2022 to nearly $130 million afterward.
To read how BBC undercover filming helped expose an Indian pharmaceutical company firm fueling West Africa’s opioid crisis, see this news story from 2025 on our website.
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News
Sierra Leone, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, and several more countries in West Africa are in the midst of an overlooked opioid crisis that’s crippling the population and devastating families. The drugs that are fueling this crisis aren’t made in makeshift labs, but imported by the millions from India’s pharmaceutical industry.
[Source: france24.com]
[Image source: wikimedia.org]
Comment
Unlike the opioid crisis in the United States, which was driven largely by domestic pharmaceutical marketing, much of West Africa’s supply of abused opioids has reportedly originated from India’s pharmaceutical export industry. Prescription drugs such as tramadol, codeine, and tapentadol are now deeply embedded in illegal street markets across the region, where poverty, unemployment, and weak governance have left many young people vulnerable to substance abuse.
Investigations have revealed that Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers exported enormous quantities of high-strength opioids into West Africa, often exploiting regulatory loopholes and weak oversight. More than 320 million tapentadol pills were reportedly shipped to West Africa between 2023 and 2025, with the total export value increasing from roughly $27 million during 2020-2022 to nearly $130 million afterward.
To read how BBC undercover filming helped expose an Indian pharmaceutical company firm fueling West Africa’s opioid crisis, see this news story from 2025 on our website.
Dr. Rath Health Foundation
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