Donors advised to consult experts before buying medicines in bulk for flood victims

Medicines worth millions of rupees are being purchased by people throughout the country, including students, for the help of the flood-affected persons and donated to welfare organisations but most of the donated medicines are proving to be worthless as they are not being purchased in consultation with clinicians and pharmacists, said health experts on Thursday.

“Hundreds of people, including university students, women and traders, are bringing bags full of medicines for the flood-affected persons, which include multivitamins, muscle relaxants, and even anti-psychotic drugs. Unfortunately, most of the medicines being purchased by the donors on their own are not required. If experts are not consulted, we estimate that medicines worth 500 millions donated by the people could go waste,” Abdul Latif Shaikh, president of the Pakistan Society of Health System Pharmacists (PSHP), told a news conference at the Karachi Press Club (KPC).

Accompanied by Al-Khidmat Health Foundation Managing Director Sufyan Ahmed, Al-Khidmat Foundation Medical Director Dr Saqib Ansari and the managing director of a local pharmaceutical firm, Shaikh urged the people to avoid ‘bulk-purchase’ of medicines on their own and instead donate cash to trustworthy welfare organisations.

The pharmacist claimed that irrational and bulk-purchase of medicines by the common people could also result in shortage of some essential medicines in non-flood-hit areas and major cities where patients could suffer due to unavailability of such medicines.

“The PSHP, which is a member organisation of the International Pharmaceutical Federation, has prepared a list of medicines and developed guidelines for the help of flood affectees. These guidelines are being disseminated through mainstream and social media to help people know what type of medicines and medical supplies are required in the flood-ravaged areas of the country,” the PSHP president said.

Ahmed said they were going to set up around 5,000 medical camps in the flood-affected areas of Sindh, Balochistan and south Punjab where volunteers from the foundation, Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) and other medical associations would treat patients. He added that according to their estimate, medicines and supplies worth Rs1 billion would be required.

“As we don’t have the time to raise this huge amount on our own, we would request local and multinational pharmaceutical industries in Pakistan to come forward and donate medicines and supplies required by the patients.”

He explained that as the flood disaster was huge so the response should also be the same. There was a safe estimate that some five million people were at risk of contracting different diseases, he said, adding that if the minimum medication price for each patient was Rs220, it would require medicines worth at least one billion rupees. “It’s time for the pharmaceuticals to come forward and contribute,” he said.

The managing director of pharmaceutical firm Pharmevo, Haroon Qasim, announced donation of medicines worth Rs5 million and shared his reservations based on past experiences as mismanagement, lack of experience and unchecked supplies could lead to leakages and waste of medicines worth millions of rupees opening new windows for the mafias willing to exploiting the situation.

“In the past, like during the 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods, medicines worth billions of rupees were arranged for the affected people,” he said. “But later it emerged that truckloads of those medicines were dispatched which were not required. Then there were no checks and balances and ultimately huge quantities of those donated medicines landed in the retail market where they were sold at cheaper rates.”