A EU operation to develop and enlarge expertise in tackling the trade of fake medicine through the internet
OPERATION HIPPOCRATES aims to develop and strengthen expertise in tackling the trade of fake medicine through internet and to exchange best practices and to develop common trainings for financial investigators and financial criminal analysts notably based on the "train-trainer" principle to the improvement of the prevention and fight against the trade of fake medicine through the internet.
The project will support operators in their prevention activities through the delivery of reliable and useful information on: Customs/pharmaceutical national or international laws on importation; Medicines, composition, pharmaceutical forms and active pharmaceutical ingredients; Characteristics of different types of health products; Recent case studies.
The project will have a duration of 2 years. During this period the following activities will be carried out:
The target groups of the training (TOT/e-learning) will be police, customs/drug regulatory authorities, government departments, independent institutes officials. 30 participants from Italy, Lithuania and Romania will attend the course in Rome (IT). Trainees in Rome will be then trainers in their national courses. The project beneficiaries will be other operators in the field, EU institutions and the general population.
The project activities will be implemented according to the following methodology:
TOT: participants will be selected by the project partners. It will be based on theoretical modules that will aim to provide participants with the basis needed for detection and investigation, then, case studies will be presented and group exercises will allow participants to apply what they have learned. The "TOT" principle is to pass knowledge and skills to colleagues who work at different ‘levels’. In fact, participants in Rome will then have to replicate the course, at national level.
E-LEARNING: a course will be developed in each partner language. Authorized officials have access to the course to get basic knowledge on fake medicine trade through the internet. All the partners will have to video record the course in their languages that will then be uploaded on the platform.
OPERATION HIPPOCRATES expected results are:
Dissemination activities will play a key role in the project and will aim to raise awareness about the project and about the issues tackled by the project among the target groups and general population. To achieve these objectives, all the project deliverables will be available also in a digital format. The project website will be also advertised on the partners websites in order to reach the possible widest audience. The partners will create a list of contacts of collaborating partners at national, regional and local level who will be informed about the project activities and results and who can be interested in the trainings. Finally, to advertise the national training courses and to present the project, an article will be published on a national newspaper.
For more information, please visit: www.hippocrates-project.eu
