Shortage of drugs, including 4 medicines for heart patients - Health Ministry Secretary | Daily News

Shortage of drugs, including 4 medicines for heart patients - Health Ministry Secretary

There is a severe shortage of a wide range of medicines, including 4 medicines for heart patients and surgical equipment for surgeries, the Secretary to the Ministry of Health Maj. Gen. (Retd.)Sanjeewa Munasinghe stated at a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office Saturday.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Health made these revelations at a meeting of a Committee appointed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe headed by UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene to look into issues in the health sector.

It was revealed that the suppliers of medicines, surgical equipment and food to the patients have not been paid for four months and there is an arrears of Rs. 34 billion.

It was also revealed that foreign pharmaceutical companies have not been paid for four months for drugs imported from them.

The Ministry of Health has opened Letters of Credit for the importation of drugs, but has been unable to import anything due to the shortage of dollars and the appreciation of the dollar.

There are 14 essential medicines and two of them are not available in the Medical Supplies Division. One of them is a drug used for heart disease. But there are alternative medicines, said the Secretary to the Ministry of Health. There are 646 medicines required by the patients and 188 of them are not available in the Medical Supplies Division. Of the 486 non-essential drugs, 21 are not in the medical supply chain. There is a shortage of those 49 drugs in hospitals. The Secretary-General of Health also said that the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are expected to divert funds allocated for certain development projects to import medicines and surgical instruments as the problem has come to an acute stage by the first week of April. 


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