ISLAMABAD: The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) said on Thursday that there is no restriction on hospitals or the general public to import essential drugs (anti-cancer drugs and vaccines) from India under the Import Policy Order 2022. JEE News reported.
This statement of the DRAP officials came out during the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Health in which Senator Professor Mehr Taj Roghani raised the issue of non-availability of several essential medicines in the country.
“In view of non-availability of certain essential medicines in Pakistan, general public and hospitals can apply for NOC to import medicines directly from India. Currently, import of any medicine from India under Import Policy Order 2022 There is no restriction,” DRAP officials told the forum.
During the meeting, Senator Roghani said that doctors from Sindh and other provinces have sent him a long list of medicines, including heparin and drugs used to treat neurological and psychiatric diseases, vaccines and other biological products that are available in Pakistan. are not available.
DRAP officials responded that the authority has launched a nationwide survey of unavailability of drugs and asked its field force across the country to report all essential drugs that are not available at health facilities.
In its written reply before the Senate Standing Committee on Health, DRAP said it is working on publishing a list of unavailable drugs with contact details on its official website, which is periodically monitored by the market. Will be updated on basis.
“A committee has been constituted by DRAP, which has been entrusted with the task of monitoring the shortage of drugs in the market. The said committee is dealing with the issue on a regular and regular basis. Similarly, DRAP has been on for NOC. Through online application, people and hospitals can import medicines from any country including India for personal use,” the written reply said.
Similarly, DRAP had also set up a complaint management cell to address complaints related to drug shortages, he said, adding that people facing such problems can call DRAP’s helpline at 0800-03727. And can send email to drugsshortages@dra.gov.pk. DRAP has also persuaded local manufacturers to produce eight drugs, which were previously not registered in Pakistan or were unavailable due to price hikes.
“DRAP has expeditiously processed applications for registration of drugs, which are not available in the market. Recently, drugs like Heparin, Isoflurane and Sevoflurane were registered on priority basis,” the reply added.
Responding to DRAP, Senator Humayun Mohmand said: “We should appreciate the efforts of DRAP to ensure the availability of medicines in the country,” adding that during the Covid-19 pandemic, DRAP has provided essential medicines. And it took minutes and hours to get the vaccine approved. sick patients.
The Senate Standing Committee and Health Ministry officials also asked Senator Roghani to introduce amendments to the existing law regarding the treatment of the injured instead of introducing a new bill.
Health Ministry officials opposed the “Pakistan Opportunistic Screening and Treatment of Hypertension Bill 2023” introduced by Senator Sania Nishtar, who argued that one in three Pakistani adults suffer from high blood pressure, but people in Pakistan The majority are undiagnosed.
Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar said, “Through this bill, I propose that every person, who visits a health care provider or health counter in the country, should be screened for high blood pressure. “
Senator Mohmand said he was in favor of mandatory screening for high blood pressure but it should be regulated by the Health Care Regulatory Authority in the capital and the Health Care Commission in the province.
He advised Dr. Nishtar to brief the committee with some experts on the importance of opportunistic screening in the next meeting. Nishtar said that she will give a briefing on the importance of opportunistic screening and WHO guidelines in this regard along with experts from the World Health Organization and other organizations.
The Senate Standing Committee also discussed the issue of election and registration of members of the National Council for Homeopathy (NCH) and directed the Health Ministry officials to look into the matter.
