KARACHI: An urgent meeting of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) was held today at PMA House, Karachi to discuss the issue of shortage of essential medicine and again increase of medicine price.

The meeting was presided over through video link by Dr Salma Aslam Kundi, Honourary President PMA Centre. The meeting was attended by Dr SM Qaisar Sajjad, Hon. Secretary General PMA Centre, Dr. Qazi Wasiq, Hon. Treasurer PMA Centre, Dr. Syed Tipu Sultan, Former President PMA Centre, Dr. Mirza Ali Azhar, Ex-President PMA Sindh, Dr. Sonia Naqvi, President PMA Karachi, Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, General Secretary PMA Karachi, Dr. Hamid Manzoor and other senior members of PMA.

The meeting expressed its concern over the acute shortage of medicine and the increased prices of medicine in Pakistan. It was told in the meeting that Poor people in Pakistan are facing difficulty for getting their treatment because government hospitals are not free, even medicine is not available to patients in these hospitals. The meeting also demanded for the provision of quality health services at public sector hospitals.

The participants were also concerned over the news item published in section of the press according to which the growing tussle between Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and pharmaceutical manufacturers has lead to shortage of 40 different essential medicines in the market and this number is increasing with every passing day. This shortage is due the local manufacturers who have stopped the production of several drugs due to rising prices of raw material in the international market, resulting in an elevated production cost.

The situation is worsening the medicine is vanishing and the black marketing of medicine is in full swing. The participants of the meeting feared that the crises may lead to further price hike in the country which will be very disastrous for the poor people of our country.

The meeting rejected any further price hike. They were of the view that medicine prices in Pakistan are already very high due to which medicines are out of the reach of the poor people of Pakistan and even the middle class of our society feels burdened. In such conditions when there is scarcity of health facilities at public hospitals, no such step should be taken that could further increase the price. This move will make it difficult for the poor people to get treatment of their sick family members. We strongly oppose this proposal, the PMA said.

The meeting said that it is very disturbing that instead of providing any relieve to the masses, government is increasing the medicine. The painful aspect of this development is that prices of essential medicine and life saving drugs will get increased further. This is against the rights of the people. The life-saving drugs should always be available at low prices. People are already spending 50 to 60% of their income on medicine and treatment. It is very well known fact that inflation has already caused an alarming increase in food prices and the prices of other commodities of daily use. In such conditions this increment of medicine prices will add to the misery of the people, the PMA said.

PMA suggested that the government should ponder some other ways to minimize the effect of increasing the cost of medicine because of devaluation of Pakistani Currency. It could be done by supporting pharmaceutical companies through reducing taxes and cut in import duty of the raw material for drugs manufacturing and packaging. Vaccines and raw material for medicine should be produced in the country. Fake, counterfeit drugs and medicine smuggling should be eliminated on priority basis.

PMA believed that government, Pharma manufacturers and all the stakeholders should sit together and resolve all the issues in such a way that problems of manufacturer should also be addressed and the poor people should also not suffer.