Sindh grapples with shortage of life-saving medicine

The shortage of life-saving medicines gripped several cities of Sindh province, including Karachi, igniting serious concerns about an impending surge in diseases, according to sources.

The development came when cases of chikungunya, dengue, poliovirus and Diphtheria were increasing rapidly.

According to sources, besides immunoglobulins tetanus, other drugs used to treat lung-related diseases, hepatitis A, rubella virus, measles, and mumps have vanished from the medicine market.

“Immunoglobulins tetanus is necessary to inject with rabies because it prevents the infection that would spread in the entire body and increases 30 to 40 percent chances of death among rabies patients if it's not treated,” said a health expert.

The crisis arose due to authorities' failure to set prices for imported medicine, which exacerbated the issue. 

However, "local companies were also producing life-saving medications," said Tauqeer Ul Haq, chairman of the pharmaceutical association.

Moreover, he admitted that imported medicines would be more effective than local in recovering patients faster.

The importer wrote to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to fix the prices of medicines because the imports of more products could not proceed without fixing the prices.

Additionally, the administration of the public hospitals in Sindh stated that they have been facing shortages for months.