In recent months, the American public has watched the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launches a controversial vision for the nation’s health. His “Make America Healthy Again” initiative has placed food safety, chronic childhood disease, and over-prescription at the center of national debate.
Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, the first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
Chuck Abuadinma is the Executive Director of Action Healthcare Service in Baltimore, Maryland.
By reshaping vaccination policy—limiting COVID-19 recommendations for children and pregnant women, dismissing advisory boards, and restructuring the CDC, Kennedy has unsettled traditional public health institutions.
As CBS News reported during his September testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, his reforms have drawn sharp criticism, with opponents warning that politicizing medical science could weaken trust. Yet his supporters argue that such disruption is necessary to expose decades of flawed health priorities. This American debate highlights a deeper truth: even in a nation with strong institutions, the intersection of politics, profit, and science can leave the public uncertain about whom to trust. However, when one shifts the lens to the developing world, particularly parts of Africa, the crisis assumes a different and harsher form.
There, the issue is not competing policies but the near-total absence of regulation. Over the past two decades, African markets have been flooded with pharmaceuticals, many imported from China. While low-cost generics have increased access to treatment, weak oversight has allowed counterfeit and poorly tested medicines to spread widely. According to World Health Organization findings, substandard or falsified products have not only wasted money but also directly threatened children’s development, fueling resistance to antibiotics and stunting growth. In these markets, medication is too often treated as a quick path to wealth for manufacturers and traders, rather than as a lifeline for patients. Families end up caught in a cycle of distrust, much like Americans who question vaccine safety; however, in Africa, the danger is not skepticism—it is survival.
The late Professor Dora Akunyili, once Director-General of Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, understood this danger better than most. In the early 2000s, she led a courageous battle against counterfeit drugs that had flooded Nigeria. Her efforts exposed powerful cartels profiting from fake medicines, and her determination nearly cost her life when she survived an assassination attempt. Akunyili’s campaign saved countless Nigerians, but her story also revealed the depth of the problem. Despite her victories, the country continues to suffer today, with average life expectancy lingering around 55 years and kidney-related deaths becoming increasingly common. These tragedies reflect not only medical fraud but also the strain of an economy that has struggled under corruption and mismanagement.
When the American struggle with overregulation and politicized science is set beside the African battle against underregulation and counterfeit medicine, one lesson emerges: children’s health is most vulnerable when oversight is weak and when money overshadows ethics. Whether in the halls of Washington or the marketplaces of Lagos, the risks are the same—families are left with uncertainty about the safety of what their children eat, drink, or receive as treatment. The way forward cannot rest solely on government action. While stronger institutions and accountability are essential, communities and individuals must also take responsibility for their own health. Growing food in local gardens reduces dependence on chemically treated imports. Preparing natural drinks and avoiding sugar-heavy sodas can help fight the rise of diabetes.
Drinking more clean water, the simplest of resources, can prevent disease and improve vitality. Most importantly, we must educate young people to be aware of what they consume, so they do not fall prey to either counterfeit medicine or unhealthy lifestyles. The World Health Organization has long emphasized that food awareness and balanced diets are as crucial as vaccines in preventing chronic illnesses. From Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s disruptive health policies in America to Dora Akunyili’s brave fight in Nigeria, the message is the same: health cannot be left to chance, politics, or profit. If governments regulate, watchdogs remain vigilant, and families make healthier choices, the tide can turn. Awareness —of good food, medicine, and informed daily living — form the most reliable vaccine we have against exploitation, disease, and decline.
