[e-drug] India: Life-saving drugs to be cheaper (4)

["Mira Shiva" <mirashiva@yahoo.com>]

E-DRUG: India: Life-saving drugs to be cheaper (4)
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The National pharmaceutical policy is in the process of making since 2002

The point of the major controversy is the Drug Price Control Order. This is the only tool that the Government has to control prices. The Industry (IDMA, OPPI), trade associations (FIICI, CII) Commerce Ministry, Finance want Price Control to be removed. The health & consumer groups do not want this to be removed as 80% of the medicines are bought as OUT OF POCKET expenditure.

Public sector Units IDPL, HAL etc have been asphyxiated with inadequate financial & Technological support. The Public sector units produced mainly essential medicines which had a lower mark up, they were not allowed to advertise, agencies & states which purchased medicines never paid back in time m& sometimes failed to do so. Added to this was political interference.

The failure of mainstream health & Medical sector to recognize the contribution of these public sector units in providing Essential Drugs at a low cost forcing others to also lower their outrageously high  prices , was another unfortunate reason .

The public sector did not get the support it needed specially after the New Economic Policy in 1991 (Structural Adjustment Program under a different name) .The pressure of International Financial Institutions to privatize, liberalize, deregulate added to their decreasing presence in the National scene.

Community health oriented Rational Drug Use subscribers have witnessed all this with sadness, since they had a significant role to play in providing low cost essential drugs .

On a personal note I have watched IDPL being built up in Rishikesh . This is geographically where Ganges River comes out of the Himalayan Mountains into the plains in Uttaranchal Pradesh close to Dehradun my hometown. I have seen it at its peak with beautiful garden well kept & admired & I have seen it with "Neglect" & resource crunch written all over.

I would support any initiative that would make Essential & Life Saving Drugs available at reasonable cost.

Regards,

Dr Mira Shiva 
Initiative for Health Equity & Society 
All India Drug Action Network 
A -60 Hauz Khas 
New Delhi 110016
India
mirashiva@yahoo.com