As the severe economic crisis hit the country, health sector and pharmaceutical industry observes the grim consequences. The country’s pharmaceutical sector reported medicinal and surgical instruments shortage.
The chronic shortages of medical instruments and anesthetics have forced doctors to stop performing surgeries at the country’s renowned hospitals.
Reportedly, the worst situation is the dire consequence of multiple factors, including; the refusal of commercial banks to issue new Letters of Credit (LCs) as of US dollar shortage; the country’s foreign exchange reserves drop to $4.3 billion; and the country’s talks with IMF (International Monetary Fund).
Consequently, the government can’t pay for the bare essentials such as active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and life-preserving drugs, including vaccines, immunoglobins, chemo-drugs, general anesthetics, and other related medicines.
It is also reported that less than 14 days of stock of anesthetics are left. Note that these drugs are necessary for the successful performance of highly sensitive surgeries, including those of the heart, kidney, brain, etc.
Apart from this, pharmaceutical manufacturers are left with a raw medical material of 28-35 days. After this, a significant health sector shutdown will be observed.
Here, it is pertinent to pinpoint that experts have already warned that the country is descending into a paralyzed abyss. To combat these crisis, the associates of medical companies have requested PM Shehbaz and Finance Minister Dar to take a stance on the rising issue immediately.
Moreover, State Bank of Pakistan and commercial banks are advised to take immediate action on this issue. The icing on the cake is the stuck shipping containers at Karachi seaport with the necessary food items, raw materials & medical equipment for weeks.
No timely measure to combat this situation will sooner lead to high mortality rate in the country.