Due to the ongoing economic blockade imposed by India on Nepal, health facilities across the country have been reeling under acute scarcity of essential drugs.Issuing a press statement on Monday, Nepal Chemists and Druggists Association said that if the current situation persists, the country will face extreme scarcity of drugs within a few days.
"Over 400 cargo trucks with medicines, raw materials for medicines and materials used for packing medicines have been held at the Indian side of the border by the Indian authorities for over a month," Bal Krishna Khakurel, director general (DG) at the Department of Drug Administration (DDA), said. He informed that the drug importers as well as pharmaceutical companies in Nepal have sought the DDA's help to persuade the Indian authorities to allow the cargos to enter Nepal.
However, the DDA has asked the drug suppliers and manufacturing companies to divert their cargos to nearby Indian airport from the border check posts, as the Indian authorities seem unconcerned about drug crisis in Nepal. "Sensitive medicines have been stuck at the borders for the last two months. So we have suggested them to divert their supplies to nearby airports," added DG Khakurel. The DDA has assured them of its help in bringing the medicines via air cargo.
According to DG Khakurel, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is preparing to issue a white paper about the ongoing drug crisis in the country and direct the concerned government agencies to initiate the process to import medicines in the country.
Meanwhile, the shortage of medicines has already set off panic among public across the country.
The DDA has asked the doctors to prescribe generic drugs instead of the drugs of a particular company. The DDA said that alternatives drugs are available in the market and there is no need to panic. "There are a lot of alternative drugs in the market and we are doing our best to avoid the crisis," claimed DG Khakurel.
Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has already formed a special taskforce led by DDA chief Khakurel to prevent possible drug crisis in the country.
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