[Pharmaceutical black market in Burkina Faso: an illicit but socially adapted market].

In recent years the sale of pharmaceutical products by unlicensed vendors outside the official public health system has grown in Africa in general and in Burkina Faso in particular. The purpose of the present study was to identify the persons involved and their motivations, sources of supply, chains of distribution, and strengths and weaknesses of the parallel market. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire. The first part focused on a certain category of buyer, i.e., mothers with children under the age of 5 years and the second part focused on medicine vendors working outside the official system. Accidental sample allowed contact with 41 vendors and cluster sampling obtained 340 mothers whose children presented fever within the last 30 days. Illicit sale of medicine appears to involve mainly young males with little or no formal education. The sex ratio was 0.25 including 34.1% with schooling and 65.9% with no schooling. The main motives of the vendors were money (18/41) and unemployment (12/41). The remaining 11 vendors stated that they wanted to help people who did not have access to a nearby health center. The business appears to be lucrative since the average daily income was estimated at 2.815 F CFA (ranges: 255 F CFA to 10.000 F CFA). Customers stated several reasons for buying on the illicit market but the most frequent reason was affordability. According to 98% of mothers drugs were cheaper on the illicit market than on the official market. Most mothers declared that their resources were insufficient to purchase higher-priced licit pharmaceutical products. Other factors accounted for buying drugs on the parallel market. Although it is considered as illicit, the market has the advantage of being socially adapted and responsive to consumer habits, expectations and needs.