Health Sector Crisis Alert:
As the severe economic crisis hit the country, the health sector and the pharmaceutical industry are seeing dire consequences. The country’s pharmaceutical sector reported shortages of drugs and surgical equipment.
A prolonged shortage of medical equipment and anesthetics has forced doctors to perform surgeries in the country’s leading hospitals.
According to reports, the worst-case scenario is a serious consequence of several factors, including; Refusal of commercial banks to issue new letters of credit (LCs) due to scarcity of US dollars; The country’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $4.3 billion. and the country’s interaction with the IMF (International Monetary Fund).
Consequently, the government cannot pay for bare essentials such as active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and life-saving drugs, including vaccines, immunoglobulins, chemo drugs, general anesthetics, and other related drugs.
It is also reported that the stock of anesthetic is less than 14 days. Note that these drugs are essential for successful performance of highly sensitive surgeries including heart, kidney, brain etc.
Also, pharmaceutical manufacturers are left with 28 to 35 days of raw medical material. This will see a significant shutdown in the health sector.
It is worth mentioning here that experts have already warned that the country is heading into a paralyzing abyss. To deal with these crises, colleagues of medical companies have requested Prime Minister Shehbaz and Finance Minister Dar to take an immediate stand on this growing issue.
Further, State Bank of Pakistan and commercial banks are advise to take immediate action on this matter. The icing on the cake is the shipping containers containing essential food items, raw materials. And medical supplies that have been stuck at Karachi port for weeks.
Any timely action to deal with this situation will soon lead. To an increase in the death rate in the country.
