Committee: World Health Organization

Topic: Medical Black Markets

Delegation: Kingdom of Spain
Delegate: Paula Medina

Today twenty people die each day from waiting a transplant while every ten minutes another
person is added to the waiting list. Organ shortage has increased rapidly with the rise of
kidney diseases and a continued lack of organ donation, for the past few decades. Over 10%
of the annual organ transplants are performed illegally through the black market. Usually,
certain patients, especially from developed countries, will travel to foreign countries to
illegally buy organs in hopes to save their own lives. Black markets of human organ exploit
the vulnerable and complicates legitimate organ donation efforts, these targeted victims often
come from impoverished populations, with the hope of being rewarded money. On the other
hand, there is a major health crisis regarding drug accessibility and affordability; it is
estimated that medical black market’s drugs take around 10% of the world’s drug supply. In
developing countries, specifically in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, counterfeit drugs are
30% of all pharmaceutical products. Many people worldwide die because they could not
afford their treatment, and consequently reducing the average life expectancy in non-
developed countries to twenty-three years lower.

The delegation of the Kingdom of Spain fears for the health and safety of both, the recipients
and donors of these organs transplantations. For this reason, the European Commission
established the communication on organ and transplantation to reduce the lack system
efficiency. The following year, a directive on the standards of quality and safety on human
organs was adopted. The European Parliament strongly criticized China when its abuses in
organ harvesting was learned. The Council of Europe begun the first international legally
binding anti-organ trafficking treaty. The problem of counterfeit medicinal products is
identified in Spain as an important, and increasing, public health problem. Therefore, the
Spanish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency issued a Strategy Paper, which stated the
strengthening education and growing awareness of the authorities, civil servants, private
entities, and citizens, as well as with the health authorities of other countries and other
international organisms. The Spanish security forces have accomplished operations against
manufactures and importers, and have cooperated with Interpol, Europol, and other national
agencies. For the past few years, more than 3,000 websites have been investigated, and
measures determined to close or ban access to those which illegally sell medicine over the
internet.

Spain is considered to be one of the best counties for organ donation as their people believe
that organ donation is not a privilege but an obligation as a citizen. For this reason, the
delegation of Spain proposes to increase deceased organ donations through a donation
program in which donors are obliged. Countries like Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg,
Norway, Poland, and Sweden all presume consent for organ donation and have 25 to 30%
higher donor rates than “opt-in” countries where donors must give explicit consent for organ
donation. Since 50% of all online medicine are considered counterfeit drugs, the delegation
of Spain is in agreement of developing systems that would identify these online falsified
medicines. The global sting operation called Operation Pangea VIII specially focused on
criminal groups behind online sale and distribution of illegal medicines, shutting down of
illegal website domains and online payment systems and arrests.
Organ Donation Statistics: Why be an Organ Donor? | organdonor.gov. (2018). Retrieved
from https://www.organdonor.gov/statistics-stories/statistics.html

Organ Donation Statistics: Why be an Organ Donor? | organdonor.gov. (2018). Retrieved

from https://www.organdonor.gov/statistics-stories/statistics.html

Millions of prescription drugs on black market. (2018). Retrieved from

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-42810148

Dying from lack of medicines | Africa Renewal Online. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2016-march-2017/dying-lack-
medicines