Surge in dollar’s value fuels shortage of drugs, surgical instruments

LAHORE: After the surge in value of US dollars, the scarcity of life-saving drugs and surgical instruments was observed in hospitals across the city.

In Lahore medicines market, the people are complaining non-availability of insulin, Hepatitis-B vaccine, eye drops, medicines used by heart patients and other daily use drugs.

Naveed Ashraf, a salesman at a wholesale medicine shop at Lohari market, told this scribe that they are not receiving medicines stock from distributors; hence they are unable to meet the demand. He disclosed that medicines that are imported including ones for heart are not available in the local market.

The owner of a drug company on the condition of anonymity said due to the non-availability of raw materials, medicines are not being manufactured. “We will run out of healthcare equipment in a matter of weeks. Medical labs are also in short supply,” he said.

Health experts said the ongoing dollar shortage is posing threat to the country’s medical profession. Major surgeries - knee replacement and hip replacement which require a lot of material - are being deferred and medical equipment is being reserved for emergency surgeries, they said.

The caretaker provincial health minister Dr Javed Akram in a meeting with the health professionals including Prof Asad Aslam Khan, Dr Yadullah and others said caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab Mohsin Naqvi wants to facilitate the people of Punjab and is spending all his energies to improve the health sector. He said that credit goes to the caretaker for providing 24/7 facility of primary angioplasty in cardiology hospitals to heart disease patients in Punjab. “We are trying to improve the conditions of government teaching hospitals in Punjab. Facilitating the patients coming to the government teaching hospitals of Punjab is the most important thing for us,” he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023