• Health Ministry awaits suppliers’ availability

The Ministry of Health stated that an agreement will be signed between the Governments of Sri Lanka and India to import nearly 30 pharmaceutical drugs currently in short supply.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni said that there is a shortage of around 30 drugs due to issues with certain suppliers. 

“Some suppliers fail to deliver orders on time, and some others have not submitted bids for the required drugs. As a result, there is a shortage of about 30 drugs. Substitutes are available for most, but some have no alternatives,” he said.

He further said that discussions have been held with the Indian High Commission (HC) in Sri Lanka regarding a government-to-government agreement to procure the necessary drugs. 

“Discussions have taken place with the Indian HC, but they have not been officially finalised. We will also seek input from the relevant stakeholders and sign the agreement to import these drugs from India,” he explained.

Dr. Wijemuni also said that they have given the relevant suppliers two weeks to confirm whether they can provide those among them that have no substitutes. On this, he said: “We engaged suppliers involved in importing and manufacturing drugs in Sri Lanka and asked them to confirm within two weeks whether they can supply them or not. This deadline ends this week. In addition, funds have been allocated to hospitals to purchase certain unavailable drugs.”

The country’s health sector faced a serious setback in recent years, primarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis. This crisis led to significant shortages of pharmaceutical drugs and medical equipment, which were later resolved to a considerable extent through foreign aid and economic recovery.