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RESEARCH Open AccessDiscover Public HealthChime et al. Discover Public Health (2026) 23:771 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-026-01812-6Consumer knowledge and utilization of Mobile Authentication Services for counterfeit medicines in Enugu, NigeriaOnyinye Hope Chime 1,2 , Ikemsinachukwu Mmaduabuchukwu Ofobeze 1 , Pamella Chinecherem Ogbe 1 , Chimdimma Favour Ofobeze 1 , Amechi Julius Odo 2 and Ebere Juliet Achi 1,2**Correspondence:Ebere Juliet Achiebere.achi@esut.edu.ng1 Department of Community Medicine and PHC, Enugu State University College of Medicine, Enugu, Nigeria2 Department of Community Medicine, Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria© The Author(s) 2026. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.AbstractBackground Counterfeit and substandard medicines pose signif i cant public health risks in Nigeria. Mobile Authentication Services (MAS) enable consumers to verify the authenticity of their medicine. This study assessed consumer knowledge and utilization of MAS in Enugu, Nigeria.Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 401 pharmacy customers in Enugu metropolis using structured interviewer-administered questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to explore associations.Results Out of this (93.0%) respondents who were aware of MAS, only 21.0% had good knowledge, and 40.4% had ever used it. Barriers to utilization included lack of time (38.2%), insuf f i cient information (33.9%), lack of knowledge (33.7%), and poor network connectivity (29.2%). A good knowledge of MAS was signif i cantly associated with utilization (χ² = 42.490,p< 0.001).Conclusion Awareness of MAS is high, but knowledge and utilization remain low. Enhancing consumer education, simplifying usage guidelines, improving network infrastructure, and engaging pharmacists are crucial for increasing the uptake of MAS and reducing counterfeit medicines.Keywords Consumer knowledge, Counterfeit medicines, Mobile Authentication Services, Nigeria, Pharmacy1 IntroductionEf f orts to improve population health rely on the provision of safe, ef f ective, and af f ord-able medicines [1]. However, counterfeit and substandard medicines continue to threaten therapeutic outcomes, health systems, and economies [2] Th e World Health Organization (WHO) def i nes counterfeit medicines as products deliberately misrepre-sented in terms of identity or source [3] Globally, approximately 15% of medicines are counterfeit accounting for over US$35 billion in criminal trade [3–5] While prevalence is low in high-income countries (< 1%), it can reach 50% in some LMICs [6].