Senators urge govt to keep medicines affordable, boost polio awareness

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services has urged the government to protect public interest by keeping essential medicines affordable, while also calling for stronger regional level engagement to counter polio through locally tailored awareness.

Talking to ‘The News’ on Thursday, Chairman of the Committee Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti said investor confidence and reasonable business margins must not come at the cost of patients who are already struggling to buy life-saving medicines.

He said the Committee asked the Ministry of National Health Services to ensure that wage increases and production costs being cited by the industry are justified, and to promote transparency in the pricing process by reviewing the activities of the SCR and research work.

Senator Chishti said that while discussing the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan Amendment Bill 2025, Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur supported the Committee’s work and expressed her willingness to align with its recommendations.

According to him, the Health Minister cautioned that abrupt policy changes could disturb the national pharmaceutical landscape and assured that the government would present a detailed plan after consulting all stakeholders, including the incoming administration.

He said the Committee was also briefed on polio eradication efforts, where Senator Masroor Ahsan expressed concern over the continued presence of the virus despite repeated vaccination drives.

The Health Minister told senators that environmental factors such as poor sanitation, unsafe water and sewage contamination in Karachi, Lahore and southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are helping the virus persist, adding that vaccination alone cannot end polio without addressing the root causes.

Senator Chishti said polio eradication required collective responsibility at the community level, and accountability from public representatives and local governments to clear misconceptions and build trust.

He recommended that district Members of Parliament produce short videos on polio awareness in regional languages and share them on social media to ensure the message reaches every household.

The Committee also reviewed the performance of the National Council for Homeopathy and stressed immediate action on curriculum reforms, research promotion, and strict measures against fake practitioners.

Senator Chishti said the Committee would review progress in its next meeting and stressed that swift implementation was needed to improve standards of homeopathic education and protect public health.