Looming drugs crisis

Among the serious hazards posed to the country by the coronavirus pandemic is the fear of an acute shortage of essential medicines due to major interruptions in supplies of raw material from foreign countries. The problem is primarily due to other countries’ desire to conserve their own emergency raw material supplies as well as the severe curtailment of air travel. As a result, Pakistan’s production of medicines and equipment has declined significantly which could trigger a health crisis in the next couple of months. China and India together supply nearly 90 per cent of the raw material used in the manufacture of medicines in Pakistan, with the rest coming from Japan, Spain and Italy.

Given the gravity of the situation, the government must act immediately to head off the impending crisis. Firstly, it must arrange expedited air delivery of raw materials through chartered aircraft. Due to the drastic reduction in air travel, supplies are currently being transported by sea — a time luxury we cannot afford. And once they arrive in the country, medicinal imports must be given immediate customs clearance in line with the health emergency the country currently faces. Secondly, port duties on medical products should be temporarily discounted to better equip the pharmaceutical industry to deal with the coronavirus.

Last but not least, the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association (PPMA) has pointed out that the pharmaceutical industry’s input cost had increased over 50% over the past three years due to the rupee’s steep devaluation against the dollar. It has, therefore, proposed that the government fix the US dollar at Rs155 for the next three months to enable the industry to combat COVID-19. We believe the PPMA proposal certainly has merit and must be given a chance to succeed.

Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. The government must urgently act to ensure uninterrupted supply of medicines to the public. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2020.

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