The drug shortage crisis worsened, and it cast a shadow over the corridors of the Ministry of Health yesterday in an unprecedented way, and it became the focus of a parliamentary threat of accountability if action was not taken to quickly develop the required solutions to alleviate the suffering of patients.
And at a time when responsible sources warned, sources told a local Arabic daily, severe shortage of some vital medicines that are prescribed to a wide range of patients on a daily basis, threatens health and the exacerbation of some cases, pointing out that some citizens resort to buying medicines online from the private sector, and even from neighboring countries.
The sources revealed that there is a weakness in the drug budget, which requires an increase in it, in order to end the crisis completely. The sources pointed out that the annual budget (estimated at about 520 million dinars for the fiscal year 2021/2022) deducts from it amounts allocated as previous invoices for medicines supplied by local companies, which makes it difficult to provide new quantities of medicines.
The sources confirmed that the current budget requires an increase of between 200 and 250 million dinars, to ensure that challenges and obstacles to supplying medicines, especially new ones, are overcome.
According to the sources, the annual budget for medicines rose to approximately 520 million dinars, after it was 490 million in the previous fiscal year. However, the increase in population and the launch of new hospitals and health centers require an increase in the budget in return, indicating that these facilities need to provide all kinds of medicines and medical supplies.
And she stressed the importance of overcoming obstacles to requests for medicines and medical supplies by the regulatory authorities, especially with regard to eliminating the long documentary cycle and the necessary approvals for the supply of separate medicines, whose arrival in the country may impede the progress of specific treatment protocols for patients.
The sources pointed to a number of challenges facing the import of medicines from abroad, most notably the small quantities that reach Kuwait, compared to what the Ministry of Health requests from international companies and local agents, citing that if you order 100,000 packages of a specific drug class, you will get only 20,000 from abroad. Add to this the repercussions of the Corona pandemic, which still casts a shadow on global factories, the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war; the increase in the cost of pharmaceutical manufacturing on companies, and global shipping and transportation.
The sources enumerated the most prominent solutions proposed to officials in the Ministry of Health, in addition to increasing the budget allocated to medicines, medical supplies and equipment annually, and increasing the storage space for medical warehouse stores in Sabhan, in addition to allocating other stores in each governorate separately, to ensure that any crises are avoided in the event that Sabhan stores are exposed to damage, as a result of any accidents or fires that may occur.
The sources added the government is required to keep pace with legal legislation in the pharmaceutical sector globally, and to speed up the pace of the documentary cycle for drug requests, in addition to working to pay the value of those medicines to local companies and international factories, and not to obstruct their payment by any party, stressing the importance of decisions aimed at ensuring the arrival of medicines during crises and emergencies.
The sources pointed to the importance of activating the role of the Public Authority for Industry, especially with regard to pharmaceutical manufacturing in Kuwait, as happened in neighboring countries, such as Saudi Arabia, which no longer suffers from a significant shortage in terms of medicines and medical supplies.
The most prominent demands and proposals to solve the crisis include:
— Urgent action to solve the shortage of medicines
— Develop a long-term strategy for the provision of medicines
— Update legislation related to the pharmaceutical sector
— Increasing the absorptive capacity of pharmaceutical factories
— Activating the role of the Public Authority Industry in relation to the manufacture of medicines
— Eliminate red tape and reduce the document cycle
— A plan to ensure the arrival of medicines during crises and emergencies