In September 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) published a new version of the guide on substandard and falsified medical products (SFMP) originally produced by the International Pharmaceutical Federation. A valuable educational tool for university trainers, drug regulators, healthcare professionals, managers and public decision-makers, this comprehensive training kit is consistent with the WHO’s global prevention strategy to ‘prevent, detect and respond’ to the resurgence and spread of substandard and falsified medicines around the world.
After winning the WHO call to tender to update this resource, EHESP – through its subsidiary EHESP International – spent two years coordinating a consortium of academic institutions bringing together the ITM in Antwerp, the Geneva University Hospitals, UCAD in Dakar and the University of Douala to produce this updated version, which is now available online on the WHO website.
Access the Training Toolkit on Substandard and Falsified Medical Products
Substandard and falsified medical products: definition and risks
Substandard medicines are products that do not meet quality standards and specifications due to poor manufacturing practices or inadequate quality control. Falsified medicines deliberately misrepresent their identity, composition or origin. Sold on informal markets (and increasingly online), these products can be found all over the world. Dangerous for populations and costly for governments, falsified and substandard products must be identified and reported in order to limit the development of this parallel market, which seriously harms citizens’ health and compromises public health investments. Coordinated efforts are therefore needed between governments (ministries of health, customs, police and justice), healthcare professionals and manufacturers to enforce regulations and raise public awareness of safety measures.
The role of EHESP and its network in updating this guide
With its expertise in coordinating international educational projects and as a leading institution in pharmaceutical inspection training, EHESP formed a consortium of academic institutions to carry out the work of updating this guide.
The resources produced are all designed for the specific needs of health professionals, management staff and regulators. The toolkit includes:
- a competency framework;
- a curriculum guide ;
- a trainer’s guide;
- technical resources.
This work aims to contribute to preventing and combating the production and marketing of these substandard and falsified products.
Contacts
Jean-Philippe Naboulet
Head of Pharmaceutical Inspector training at EHESP and co-author of the Training Toolkit on Substandard and Falsified Medical Products (SFMP)
jean-philippe.naboulet@ehesp.fr – Voir sa page personnelle
Samuel Hilyer
International Project Manager at EHESP and coordinator of the Consortium mandated by WHO to update the Training Toolkit on Substandard and Falsified Medical Products (SFMP)
Find out more
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/substandard-and-falsified-medical-products