Why is access to medicine such a challenge for many Africans?

Buying affordable and safe medicines across Africa is often difficult. There are not enough pharmacies and the price of medicine is often too high for many people to afford.

If you do get hold of the medicine you need, then there is the question of whether you can trust it; shocking statistics from the United Nations show that close to 500,000 people in sub Saharan Africa die each year due to fake or substandard medicines.

So in this episode of Africa Daily we look at the journey of a packet of medicine from start to finish, to find out where the problems are, and how they can be solved.

Our two experts are Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, Director of Research at Global Health Focus, and Chimwemwe Chamdimba, the Principal Policy Specialist at the African Union Development Agency.