BY Dinitha Rathnayake The All-Island Private Pharmacy Owners’ Association has raised concerns over the risk to pharmacies owing to the present economic crisis, and said that 10% of pharmacies islandwide are closed due to the current crisis. Speaking to The Morning, Association Media Secretary A.H.D.S. Suranga said that sales have also dropped due to the price increase of drugs. “We are facing heavy losses due to the current prices of medicine and power cuts. People are unable to purchase drugs due to the price increase as some drugs have been increased threefold.” He also said that people cannot afford to buy drugs as they are losing their buying power at the moment. “People who used to buy drugs for three months at once, only buy them for one week now. We have no hope for the future because we cannot predict what could happen,” Suranga said. It was also revealed that drug distributors are not providing medicines for a credit line at the moment. Meanwhile, there is a shortage of cancer drugs, drugs for children like antibiotics, and medicines for asthma. Earlier, pharmacies all over the island were being forced to close down due to the fuel crisis that has crippled the nation. “Pharmacies should be provided with fuel to prevent 6,000 pharmacies in the island from closing down soon. We receive more than 350 calls per day through our hotlines, asking for drugs, and most of these patients are hospitalised. Without fuel, we cannot run our service, and we feel bad since the public would obviously be affected by this,” the Association’s President Chandika Gankanda told The Morning earlier. He said that despite fuel shortages affecting the sector directly, they are yet to receive any support from the Government. “Insulin and suppositories should be stored in a refrigerator, and we need generators to keep them functioning, while drugs should be distributed to pharmacies islandwide. For both, we need fuel. We urge the Government to make our service essential just as during Covid-19, so that we would be able to provide medicine to the general public.” According to Gankanda, the drug shortage is heavily affecting the health sector, especially hospitals and people who need to regularly purchase drugs from pharmacies. However, according to Suranga, the fuel issue has been sorted so far.