• 80% of imported meds come from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
• Move will save much-needed forex: Health Min. 
• Claims new process will reduce corruption

Sri Lanka is actively pursuing Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan to directly purchase medicines, bypassing the established procurement process, Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella told The Sunday Morning.

Minister Rambukwella said that this decision was aimed at saving a substantial sum of foreign exchange that is currently being drained out of the country through third-party medicine purchases. 

Moreover, it intends to mitigate potential corruption allegations often associated with the procurement process.

“We are trying to get an MoU with India and we are almost through with the process. Simultaneously, we are in discussions with Pakistan and Bangladesh. I received a positive response and support from the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. We are at the final stage of the MoU with India and will be discussing with the other two countries as well. Around 80% of the medicine requirements come from these countries and this move will help us save a significant amount of foreign exchange spent on third parties,” Rambukwella explained.

According to the Health Ministry, it takes 11-14 months to purchase drugs needed for the first quarter of the year through the standard procurement process. Even under emergency circumstances, the process requires between 60-90 days to purchase these medicines.

Currently, there is a shortage of 277 types of medicinal drugs in the medicine supply sector, according to health experts. To address this issue promptly, the Health Ministry is planning to purchase these medicines through a government-to-government system, the Minister said.

This streamlined approach aims to reduce unnecessary delays associated with tender calls, providing a more efficient method for securing essential medicines for the nation.

Sri Lanka has a long history of corruption and malpractice related to purchase of medicines, with a number of medicines sourced though emergency purchases also being put under the microscope due to multiple health complications and deaths as a result of their use. 

Several pharmaceuticals which were found to have negative side effects or are suspected to have caused deaths have been recalled and removed from circulation.