Punjab health authorities hurting patients for personal gains

Lahore: Substantial irregularities have been detected in the purchase of hepatitis medicine by Punjab health department discriminating local industry and depriving thousands of poor patients of benefit of treatment.  

According to the details provincial government had allocated 2.44 billion rupees to be spend for prevention and control of hepatitis in three years as every 13^th person is infected with either hepatitis B or C with majority living in Punjab.

A decision was taken to spend Rs 750 million in the first year and the health authorities of Punjab decided purchase medicine from multinationals on double cost ignoring local pharmaceuticals.

To deprive local industry, an unlawful condition WHO study was inserted in the tender; an excuse never used in the history of Pakistan.

The move was based on malafide intentions and personal welfare as it was against the provisions of Drug Act and Section 10 of the Punjab Procurement Rules.

WHO study is not mandatory as per the law of the land and that hepatitis medicine produced locally since five years is being used by leading institutions, administered to millions of patients and exported without any complaints regarding quality, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.

But, health officials were quick to disqualify local companies including one which has the honour of having only WHO certified laboratory in Pakistan which, he added.

He said that purchasing medicine from local industry can help double number of poor patients as local product is half the price of that being purchased from multinationals but this fact was not enough to move health and procurement authorities.

Health authorities are using one pretext or other to prefer multinationals facing corruption charges in dozens of countries after the national companies started manufacturing the cost effective medicine.

Recently, Sindh government tried to purchase hepatitis medicine from the same foreign companies but the Sindh High Court frustrated collusion of the government officials and multinationals by cancelling the tender terming it unconstitutional, illegal and based on malafide intentions.