Commission: World Health Organization

Topic: Medical black markets

Delegation: Japan
Delegate: Sana Horikawa
Medical black markets have caused approximately 700000 casualties per year due to the
consumption of counterfeit medicine, which slows recover as expected or develops side effects
that may risk a life. These markets are prevalent, especially in developing countries where there
is no supported and regulated healthcare by the state. The medical facilities and medication is
scarce and can only be obtained through black markets. With pharmaceutical sales in such
countries running at around $300 billion a year, trade in fake medicines is a $30 billion business.
Medical black markets define gaining access to unlicensed doctors, illegal transactions in
exchanges of medicine and medicine records, counterfeit medicines and human organ trafficking.
Black-market drug trade may account for an estimate of 10% of the world’s drug supply.

The delegation of Japan has been supporting other countries through the agency in financial
aspects to afford medicines and implementing several projects to reduce the number of medical
black markets. In 1995, the World Health Organization launched the DMP-DAP Joint Project on
Counterfeit Drugs with financial assistance from the Government of Japan. The objective was to
assist Member States in the assessment of the problem of counterfeit drugs and in the
development of measures to combat counterfeiting. Japan has had contributed around $23
million to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime projects in Afghanistan and region in
2012. The project strengthened counter-narcotics capacities, as it supported for a forensic
laboratory within the counter narcotics police and mobile detection teams. In addition, the
government of Japan has signed the UNODC project for ‘Strengthening border security against
illicit drug trafficking and related transnational organized crime’ with Pakistan in 2016. This
project was implemented under the UNODC Country Program for Pakistan (2016-2019) through
the financial support of approximately $6.5 million from the Government of Japan. The
delegation of Japan has supported copious other projects to help countries stressing about these
markets, using its advantages of a high GDP, and medical and technological advancements.

To reduce medical black markets, the delegation of Japan proposes an implementation of projects
with the cooperation of the World Health Organization and United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime. With the collaboration of the WHO, Japan demands a project to aid Sub-Saharan African
countries in financial aspects to afford medications listed on the WHO model lists of essential
medicines and to share Japan’s advancements in technology to cure more diseases successfully
and efficiently, as well as surgeries. Observing that developing countries have a higher number of
medical black markets, developed countries should aid these nations that need international
cooperation to eliminate illicit drugs and counterfeit medicines; in contrary increase the amount
of medicines that are in need with an affordable price for all citizens. The former Secretary-
General Ban Ki-Moon stated, “Fighting the drugs trade is essential to our work to reduce poverty
and raise standards of human well-being.” Following this, Japan proposes to cooperate with
other developed delegations and implement projects to reduce the number of medical black
markets and the number of casualties caused by these markets.
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