The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) has increased prices of 53 essential drug brands of 20 generics used in primary healthcare. The DGDA committee in its 58th meeting held on 30 June at the health ministry has increased the prices of medicine after seven years. Before this, the prices were revised in 2015.
When poor and middle income groups are bearing the brunt of price hike alongside reeling under unprecedented economic crises, the sudden price hike in medicines is not acceptable at all during this tough time. The unprecedented drug price hike has already started hitting the poor cluster of the society and middle income families hard as well. The increase in prices of medicine has already directly affected the poor patients, making their lives miserable.
The government should launch
a massive crackdown on
counterfeiting gangs
It has been noticed that over the past few days many people got locked altercations with the shop owners and returned homes without buying medicines across the country. Our country has high prevalence of non-communicable, communicable and viral disease such as cardiovascular ailments, diabetes and hypertension. As millions of people suffer from these common health issues, it will be very difficult for them to medicines now selling at high price.
Many people are now avoiding medical procedures and tests due to expensive medication. The latest price hike in medicines will also encourage the organised counterfeiting gangs in different places of the country to manufacture various sophisticated and life saving copies of the bestselling medicines. They will start sending these fake medicines to the pharmacies situated in remote villages across the country through courier services.
Medicines are used to save lives but if people take counterfeit, expired, unregistered and banned ones they may face the instant consequence and even death. Therefore, the government should strictly monitor the medicine market to control prices of essential drugs at first.
If medicine shop owners extract additional price, they should be brought to book and put on trial. Apart from this, the government also should launch a massive crackdown on counterfeiting gangs involved in copying and manufacturing medicines immediately.
Considering the overall situation, we think the government hospitals and community clinics can play key role in providing primary healthcare services including 28 sorts of medicines free of cost to the rural people. Simultaneously, the affluent people of the society and businessmen should extend their all out supports to the poor patients to get essential medicines.