A medication can be “fake” in several ways: its formulation, identity, or source. The World Health Organization uses the term substandard and falsified (SF) to describe medications that post a threat to public health, and we use this terminology throughout our campaign interchangeably with “fake.” Pills, intravenous, and oral medicines are all impacted.
Genuine medical products that fail to meet quality standards or specifications. They are made by legitimate manufacturers but may be poorly produced, degraded, or improperly stored, resulting in incorrect strength, contamination, or reduced effectiveness.
Medical products that deliberately misrepresent their identity, composition, or source. They may contain no active ingredient, the wrong ingredient, or dangerous substitutes, and often carry fake packaging.
Traditionally refers to intellectual property violations (copying branding or trademarks without authorization). WHO now distinguishes counterfeit from substandard/falsified because counterfeit emphasizes the legal issue rather than safety, but in practice, it often overlaps with falsified drugs.