AUTHOR=Maharaj Sandeep Bhupendra , Dookeeram Darren , Hosein Roger , Ramkissoon Kelvin , Ramdass Amrica , Franco Darleen Y. , Pooransingh Shalini 

TITLE=The pharmaceutical suitcase trade and the need for multisectoral regulation-unproven COVID-19 (Ivermectin and HCQ remedies unmask an insidious health danger in a Caribbean Island)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1353516

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1353516

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p>This article seeks to highlight an aspect of the illegal pharmaceutical trade in the Caribbean. With the advent of COVID-19 there has been a shortage of a number of drugs in the formal sector. This is largely due to restrictions on foreign exchange, importation delays and sensationalized reporting of unrecommended drugs having a curative effect on COVID-19 patients. This article examines the issue of “the informal suitcase trading” of these drugs. It posits a need for a collaborative and multi-sectoral approach to mitigate the negative effects of the practice on health, trade and national security.</p>