Fears of healthcare crisis mount amid import restrictions

The Healthcare Devices Association (HDA) has warned the relevant authorities of disruption of medical and surgical treatment facilities across the country after the recent restriction making registration with the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) mandatory for the import of medical and surgical equipment.

"Drap has not been able to make decisions on most of the registration applications submitted over the past several years and so far, only about 3,000 applications have been dealt with, while the number of medical items used in Pakistan are more than 300,000. Drap extended the time for registration through SRO 526 till December 31, 2022, after which all unregistered medical devices and laboratory tests cannot be imported legally and sold from January 1, 2023," said senior vice chairman of the association Adnan Ahmed Siddiqui.

Fear of a serious crisis in the provision of medical facilities was looming, he said. "As the discontinuation of medical facilities and life-saving surgeries has started in Pakistan, the lives of countless individuals are at risk. The lack of access to necessary healthcare is a devastating reality for many in the country," he stated.

According to him, due to the ban on the import of medical and surgical equipment and machinery, crisis in the provision of medical facilities may worsen in coming days.

He said Drap had made the registration of medical devices mandatory after which the import policy was made subject to a Drap certificate.

Also, he said, there were issues related to opening of LCs at local banks due to foreign exchange despite State Bank of Pakistan's direction to banks to prioritise payments of pharmaceuticals and surgical items/medical devices and diagnostic products. As a result, imports were almost at halt, Mr Siddiqui said, mentioning that medical devices include items used for lab tests and surgery as well as other equipment used in hospitals.