At least six among 60 are confirmed to have died due to the poor quality medication. PHOTO: FILE
Why do we always need courts to take notice of unlawful practices continuing unabated? This was the case with the interferon injections which would have been impossible to identify had the Peshawar High Court (PHC) not taken notice of the ‘killing’ and not ‘curing’ drugs being administered to hepatitis C patients.
At least six among 60 were confirmed to have died due to the poor quality medication. A laboratory test proved that patients, who knocked on the doors of the health department seeking respite from the fatal disease, died as a result of the limited protection provided in the substandard injections.
It was the PHC which unveiled the scam on February 6 by calling upon the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) to identify and arrest the mafia responsible, exposing those who were treating poor citizens in an inhumane manner.
“Those playing with the lives of the citizens will be dealt with an iron hand, and all those found involved in purchasing and supplying substandard interferon injections will be tried against criminal charges,” PHC Chief Justice (CJ) Dost Muhammad Khan was quoted as saying the same day.
The ACE probing team took 20 days to identify the culprits. Provincial Director General Health Services Dr Shareef Ahmad, project director of the hepatitis control programme Ghulam Subhani and a store keeper Mubarak Shah were singled out for their involvement in the scam. Ahmad and Subhani’s attempt to obtain bail from the court was turned down on April 6 by District and Sessions Judge Sahibar Khan.
The ACE, while probing the issue, suspected former health officials were also involved and attempted to arrest former director general health Muhammad Ali Chohan. However, Chohan managed to obtain a pre-arrest bail order from the court.
It was in 2011 that the then PHC CJ Ijaz Afzal Khan took notice of the low quality drugs being supplied to prison hospitals. During the ongoing case, a second case of embezzlement worth Rs250 million was unveiled in 2013.
Interferon is a recognised drug used to treat hepatitis B, C, cancer and multiple sclerosis patients. Hepatitis C patient requires an injection every six months along with follow-up visits to the doctor. A single injection costs Rs5,000. The health department provided treatment to 6,000 patients between 2009-2010, 10,000 in 2010-2011, and 20,000 in 2011-2012.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 22nd, 2013.
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