The Ministry of Health yesterday issued a tally of illegal health-service providers in the country, saying there were nearly 4,000 such facilities as of August.

Minister of Health Mam Bunheng yesterday met with several officials from health departments throughout the country to urge a crackdown on illegal health services and counterfeit medicines.

At the meeting, Heng Bun Keat, the director of the Health Ministry’s Drugs and Food Department, said that the sale of counterfeit drugs and the promotion of illegal services were still widespread in the Kingdom, with the ministry counting 3,942 illegal health-service providers and 8,502 legal ones.

“There is still the sale of medicine and the promotion of health [services] without permission from the ministry. It really affects public health,” he said.

Bunheng called on officials to commit themselves to a February strategy, put forth by the ministries of Health and Interior, to curb such illegal practices and the use of fake medicines after the surprise HIV outbreak in Battambang province’s Roka commune.

“We have enough laws now, so please make the effort to combat illegal health services and medicines in the country,” he said. “The problem in Roka village is our example, and we don’t want this to happen again.”