PIMA condemns hike in drug prices

Islamabad : The Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) has severely criticised the federal cabinet for increasing the prices of 94 life-saving drugs, and has pointed out that the measure will only add to the miseries of the general public, which is already struggling to cope with the impact of COVID-19, unemployment, and ever-rising prices of fuel and daily commodities.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, PIMA’s President Prof. Khubaib Shahid said, healthcare deserves a subsidy by the government. “The prices of drugs should not have been raised because of their essential nature. We appreciate that the pharmaceutical industry is facing issues; such problems should have been resolved by easing taxes and subsidizing the manufacturing and import of medicines, rather than increasing the prices. Inflation should be addressed by raising taxes on luxuries and non-essential items, rather than medicines,” he articulated.

PIMA has demanded the government ensure free availability of essential and other drugs, many of which have been short in the market for quite some time. “The government should also give health subsidy, meet financial deficits by other means, and improve the existing health problems on priority basis,” the statement concluded.