Political will and the strong commitment of the government are essential if there is to be a concerted effort to improve drug control and decrease the incidence of counterfeiting. Government responsibilities include:

- enactment/revision of appropriate legislation (see section 6.2)

- establishment of adequately resourced drug control institutions (preferably a single national DRA) with appropriate powers enshrined in legislation (see section 6.3)

- provision of adequate initial and in-service training for drug control, customs and law enforcement personnel; customs officials will require skills related to the inspection of documents accompanying any imported drugs, including export and import authorization for narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (17-19), and in the identification of counterfeit drugs to enable their interception and detention at the ports of entry for detailed investigation and examination, with the assistance of qualified persons when necessary (see section 10)

- establishment of specific import procedures; this may include designation of ports of entry for imported drugs, a measure which is particularly desirable in countries with limited human resources (20)

- fostering international cooperation in the control of pharmaceuticals and entering into bilateral and multilateral agreements with other governments and with international organizations such as WHO and the International Criminal Police Organization/Interpol