- Assistance sought from foreign Governments
- Supply chain issues to be addressed
The Ministry of Health and Mass Media yesterday unveiled plans to obtain direct assistance from foreign Governments to secure essential medicines and pharmaceutical supplies until the present issues within the medicine supply chain are resolved and disruptions are minimised.
The Health Ministry has presented a Cabinet Paper in this regard and the Cabinet has instructed the Health Ministry to set up a high-powered committee to facilitate the direct procurement of medicines from foreign Governments. This committee will oversee and implement future steps under this mechanism, a Health Ministry spokesman said.
The Ministry will submit an expanded proposal to the Cabinet again for final approval under this process, and with the agreement of the National Procurement Commission (NPC). The entire process will be transparent and cost effective.
An expedited program is already under way to restore the country’s medicine supply chain to normality, the Ministry spokesman said. The Covid-19 pandemic and the 2022 economic crisis led to a situation where the country could not procure certain essential medicines needed for infectious diseases and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in a regular manner. A committee comprising senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, and the Attorney General’s Department, has already been appointed to formulate proposals to procure medicines from overseas Governments and manufacturers.
The committee is chaired by the Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media Dr. Anil Jasinghe. The committee, under the leadership of Secretary Dr. Jasinghe, convened a meeting on Thursday at the Ministry of Health and Mass Media in Colombo. The discussions focused on how to commence and implement an expedited process to obtain medicines for Sri Lanka with the cooperation of foreign countries which have a strong pharmaceutical manufacturing base.
The Ministry of Health and Mass Media will take all measures to swiftly complete the preliminary tasks and ensure an uninterrupted supply of essential medicines, medical equipment, and related services to the public through Government hospitals and medical facilities under the program.
