Anti-people drug policy

This refers to the article, ‘New drug policy’ (April 10) by Shahid Mehmood. ‘Essential medicines’, as the name implies, form the base of the drug policy of any country. By definition an essential drug is effective, efficacious, relatively safe, affordable, cost-effective and meets the need of a large segment of population. But in our country essential drugs – even lifesaving drugs – are either not available or available in short quantity, These drugs are available even in other Saarc counties and that too at affordable rates.
We are flooded with irrational, expensive and even harmful drugs robbing people of their health and meagre resources. For example, many people in our country are anaemic. WHO recommends ‘ferrous sulphate’, costing only sixty paisas per tablet to treat iron deficiency. But people are being charged Rs10 per tablet. Similarly, Penicillin is not generally available, necessitating the use of the second line of anti-bacterial medicine. Nitrofurantoin – the first line of drug for treating common urinary tract infections costing only Re1 a tablet – is not available at stores while it is openly sold in black for Rs60 to Rs90 per tablet. The list is endless. Our drug and pricing policies are anti-people.
Lt Gen Prof Emeritus Mahmud Akhtar
Rawalpindi