Medicine shortage not fully resolved: Minister

Minister of Health Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim has said that while some progress has been made in addressing the difficulties in obtaining medicines, the issue has not been fully resolved yet.

Responding to a question by a journalist from RaajjeMV at a press conference held at the President's Office to provide information about the Health Ministry's work on Thursday, Minister Nazim said that there are challenges in obtaining some medicines from pharmacies of the State Trading Organization (STO), and that this issue arises due to challenges in getting supplies of medicines. However, he said that positive results have been observed from efforts to resolve the issue in response to public concerns, but the issue remains unsolved fully.

The minister stated that such issues can be resolved through the efforts of many parties within a comprehensive system, and that once the work currently being done by institutions to solve the issue is completed, the challenges faced in obtaining medicines will be resolved.

Previously, when there were difficulties in obtaining medicines to an extent that did not inconvenience the public, those who have worked in the field have said that before the current administration came to power, STO had been importing medicines needed for the country through a very robust system, and that people did not face difficulties in obtaining medicines.

They have said that it is not possible for a single company to bring all the medicines needed for the country, and that even before, STO was not the only entity importing medicines for all major and minor illnesses. This work was being done in collaboration with private companies under an agreement.

Private sector pharmacies had to operate at a loss due to changes in medicine prices brought by the government without consultation. Some parties have said that although private pharmacies provided medicines to the general public through the national health insurance scheme Aasandha, the funds that Aasandha is supposed to release to these pharmacies have not been released so far.