KARACHI:
Recently one of my friends shared a video on social media. In this clip an Indian Administrative Services Officer was discussing the use of generic medicines i.e. medicines being sold under original salt names. These medicines are far cheaper than those that are being sold by pharmaceutical companies under trade names. According to this Indian official, their generic medicine policy is paying rich dividends and people at large are getting benefits of cheap medicines without any undue compromise on efficacy and necessary quality controls. He proudly claimed that by doing so, health standards in his area have improved significantly.
This video clip reminded me of the late Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s era, when generic medicines were first introduced in Pakistan. But this noble idea failed miserably due to the flooding of fake medicines in the markets. The government was unable to control this menace and the whole programme was rolled back. As a result, poor people were left with no alternative except to buy expensive branded medicines. Unfortunately, this policy still continues unabated. One must understand that Pakistan, having a large population size of about 220 million, does not have a single pharmaceutical salt producing unit.
In light of the given situation, the introduction of generic medicines in Pakistan is highly imperative. The PTI government is required to urgently formulate and implement a robust Generic Medicines Policy. Furthermore, this policy should be guarded by strict administrative controls to avoid failure. The government must also encourage and support the private sector in setting up pharmaceutical salt manufacturing units in the country so as to arrest implications of adverse exchange fluctuations which is always followed by price hikes.
Hassan Azam Shibbli
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2021.
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