Advisor on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique has said that steps will be taken for ensuring provision of quality medicines, elimination of business of spurious drugs and checking sale of life-saving drugs without prescription. "After the 18th Amendment, strategy at provincial level will be evolved after reviewing in detail laws regarding sale of lifesaving drugs without prescription, checking of spurious and substandard drugs, import of raw material and testing and manufacturing of medicines," the advisor told a consultative meeting he led on Friday to formulate the Provincial Drug Policy.
During the meeting, additional Secretary Drug Control Doctor Sohail Saqlain briefed about the draft strategy of Punjab Drug Policy and the Punjab Information Technology Board briefed the audience about the modules of monitoring of performance of drug inspectors and mechanism of controlling fake and substandard medicines.
The advisor then said the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association and other stakeholders would be consulted and that his provincial government would help and its proposals to eradicate substandard medicines, regulate prices, register and prepare medicines, improve the Drug Regulatory Authority and other concerned institutions. He said, "Implementation of laws will have to be ensured for resolving problems. The existing laws will be reviewed thoroughly. Consultation with technical experts and their input will help take right decisions," he added. He also demanded another meeting after 10 days and stressed the need for introducing strict accountability for setting the system on right direction.
Those also attending were former Health director general Dr Nisar Cheema, Drug Chief Controller Dr Zaka ur Rehman, Drug Testing Laboratory Director Dr Jameel, Punjab Pharmacy Council Secretary Chaudhry Muhammad Shamoon and Punjab Information Technology Board officers.
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