The survey aimed at evaluating the quality of selected antimalarials in six countries of sub-Saharan Africa (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and the United Republic of Tanzania). These countries have been supported by WHO to strengthen their regulatory controls over antimalarial products. The survey was organized independently of manufacturers of antimalarial medicines...Of 306 samples selected for laboratory testing, 267 were fully tested and 28.5% of them failed to comply with specifications. Although non-compliance with pre-established criteria cannot be directly related to a risk for patients' health, such a high failure rate indicates a substantial problem in the quality of antimalarials present in distribution channels. Focusing only on extreme deviations from specifications (as defined in this report), which are likely to be associated with health implications, the failure rate reached 11.6%...