Drug Shortage Crisis Worsens

A parliamentary threat of accountability was made yesterday if action was not taken quickly to develop the necessary solutions to alleviate the suffering of patients as a result of the drug shortage crisis that worsened and cast a shadow over the corridors of the Ministry of Health in an unprecedented way.

In a time when responsible sources warned, the local Arabic daily reported that a severe shortage of certain vital medicines that are prescribed to many patients every day threatens health and can exacerbate some conditions, as some citizens buy medicines online from the private sector, and even from neighboring countries.

According to sources, the drug budget is weak, which requires an increase to end the crisis completely. Sources pointed out that the annual budget (estimated at 520 million dinars for fiscal year 2021/2022) deducts amounts allocated as previous invoices for medicines supplied by local companies, making it difficult to purchase new quantities.

To overcome challenges and obstacles to supplying medicines, especially new ones, the current budget needs an increase of 200 to 250 million dinars.

Sources report that the annual budget for medicines increased to 520 million dinars from 490 million the previous year. In response, the increase in population and the opening of new hospitals and health centers require an increase in the budget, which indicates that these facilities need to provide all kinds of medicines and medical supplies.

It was also stressed that regulatory authorities should overcome obstacles to requests for medicines and medical supplies, especially when it comes to eliminating long documentation cycles and approval processes for separate medicines, whose arrival in the country could impede the implementation of specific treatment protocols.

Medicine imports from abroad face a number of challenges, notably the low quantities that reach Kuwait, compared to what the Ministry of Health requests from international companies and local agents. If you order 100,000 packages of a particular drug class, you will only receive 20,000 from abroad, said the sources. Furthermore, there are still repercussions from the Corona pandemic, which casts a shadow on global factories, the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the rise in pharmaceutical manufacturing costs.

According to sources, the most prominent solutions offered to officials in the Ministry of Health included increasing the annual budget allocated to medicines, medical supplies, and equipment, as well as increasing the storage space for medical warehouses in Sabhan, along with allocating other stores in each governorate separately, to prevent any crisis if the Sabhan stores are damaged by accidents or fires.

In addition to keeping pace with global legal legislation, the government must also expedite drug requests by speeding up the documentation process, according to sources. The government must also work to ensure the arrival of medicines during crises and emergencies by paying the value of those medicines to local companies and international factories and not obstruct their payment by any party, emphasizing the importance of making decisions aimed at ensuring they arrive.

The sources highlighted the importance of activating the role of the Public Authority for Industry, especially with regard to pharmaceutical manufacturing in Kuwait, as has been done in neighboring countries, such as Saudi Arabia, which has no longer suffered from a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies.

Among the most prominent demands and proposals to resolve the crisis are:

- Solving the shortage of medicines urgently
- Develop a long-term strategy for medicine provision
- Legislation related to the pharmaceutical sector should be updated
- Enhancing the absorption capacity of pharmaceutical factories
- Activating the role of the Public Authority Industry in medicine manufacturing
- Reduce the document cycle and eliminate red tape
- Plans to ensure the delivery of medicines during crises and emergencies

 

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