SL to buy medicinal drugs directly from Bangladesh

Further strengthening the fight against the medicinal drugs mafia, the Health Ministry yesterday finalised an agreement with Bangladesh to purchase drugs from that country on a governmentto-government.

This was a result of the discussion Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena had with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when he visited Bangladesh last year.

A Bangladeshi delegation comprising Neazuddin Miah, Jahangir Hossain Mollik and Mohamed Khairul Hassan discussed the matter with the minister at the Ministry yesterday.

He was assisted by Health Secretary Nihal Jayasinghe, SPC Chairman S.D. Jayaratne and additional Secretary Amal Harsha De Silva.

The minister said certain drug companies which are contracted to supply drugs to the state sector were deliberately delaying the supply in the hope of creating drug shortages and thereby compelling the Ministry to purchase drugs from the open market at higher prices.

“By purchasing drugs on a government to government basis I accept many of the ills prevalent in the drug supply to disappear with little or no drug shortages and the absence of the supply of substandard drugs to our hospitals,” he said.

While expressing his gratitude to Bangladeshi Premier Sheikh Hasina for facilitating the agreement, the minister said he expected to sign similar agreements with Thailand and Malaysia.

He said with the encatment of the National Medicinal Drug Policy by mid-2014, there would be no room for malpractices in the drug market and all drugs will have to be prescribed and sold under the generic name indicating the end of the drug mafia in the country.