Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif
Islamabad: Amid the ongoing foreign reserves crisis in Pakistan, hospitals across the country are witnessing a shortage of surgical, medical, and diagnostic equipment due to the apex drug regulator’s negligence.
In 2021, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had issued a Statutory Regulatory Order on April 30 through which medical equipment and surgical supplies were imported into the country. While the order expired on December 21 last year, the authority has still not issued a new one, ARY News reported.
This may now result in mass shortage of surgical supplies and medical equipment across Pakistan, which is currently reeling under severe economic crisis resulting in soaring prices of essentials.
Since there are no new SRO in place, more than 100 containers of imported surgical equipment from various firms have been halted at ports in Karachi, according to reports.
Hospitals across Pakistan have already started feeling the pressure of the shortfall in surgical and medical equipment, Senior Vice Chairman of Healthcare Devices Association of Pakistan, Adnan Siddiqui, told The Express Tribune.
“More than 0.3 million surgical, medical, and diagnostic tools are reportedly used on patients in Pakistan. Moreover, most of these tools are vital in saving lives. However, the regulatory body’s disregard for at-risk patients is quite apparent,” Siddiqui said.
“The lack of an SRO is a cherry on top as at the moment, the industry is rife with challenges given the country’s poor economic state and fluctuating dollar. Several banks have declined to open letters of credit (LCs) for supply companies, which has already dismayed the medical industry,” he added.
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