Islamabad:
The ongoing economic crisis in Pakistan has hit the healthcare system hard, with patients struggling to get essential medicines. The country’s lack of foreign exchange reserves has hampered Pakistan’s ability to import the required medicines or the active pharmaceutical ingredients (`I) used in domestic production.
As a result, local pharmaceutical manufacturers have been forced to cut production as patients in hospitals suffer. Due to the lack of medicines and medical equipment, doctors are forced not to perform surgeries.
According to Pakistani media reports, operating theaters are left with less than a two-week supply of anesthetics needed for sensitive surgeries, including heart, cancer and kidney surgeries. The situation could also lead to job losses in hospitals in Pakistan and further aggravate the misery of the people.
Drug makers have blamed the financial system for the health care crisis, claiming that commercial banks do not issue new letters of credit (LCs) for their imports.
Pakistani drug manufacturing is heavily dependent on imports, with nearly 95 percent of the drugs requiring raw materials from other countries, including India and China. For most drug manufacturers, the imported materials have been held up in the Karachi port due to a shortage of dollars in the banking system.
The drug industry has stated that the cost of manufacturing drugs is constantly increasing due to rising fuel costs and transportation costs, as well as the sharp devaluation of the Pakistani rupee.
Recently, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) called for government intervention to prevent the situation from turning into a disaster. However, instead of taking immediate action, authorities are still trying to gauge the extent of the shortage.
Drug traffickers in Pakistan’s Punjab have said government survey teams have conducted field visits to determine shortages of essential medicines. Retailers revealed shortages of some common but essential medicines are affecting the majority of customers. Such drugs include Panadol, Insulin, Brufen, Disprin, Calpol, Tegral, Nimesulide, Hepamerz, Buscopan and Rivotril etc.
Earlier in January, Syed Farooq Bukhari, the central chairman of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (PPMA), said about 20 to 25 percent of pharmaceutical production is currently sluggish, The Express Tribune reported. He further said: “The worst drug crisis would erupt in the country if the current policy (ban on imports) stays in place for the next four to five weeks.”
Earlier this month, the Pakistani government and IMF staff completed the ninth review of the $6.5 billion bailout without a staff-level agreement. The Pakistani government had hoped to be able to persuade the IMF to gradually implement the conditions. However, Islamabad’s hopes were dashed during the IMF mission’s 10-day visit to Pakistan.
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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