Following the recent revelation of shortages of cancer drugs at the National Cancer Institute (Apeksha Hospital) in Maharagama, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has urged the Ministry of Health to make maximum use of its budget allocation for pharmaceuticals.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (16), GMOA Secretary Dr. Udayabandara Warakagoda said the drug procurement process should be streamlined and fast-tracked to ensure medicines are available through the Medical Supplies Division (MSD), rather than relying on local purchases to address shortages.

He said the Ministry should also identify and address problems in the procurement process, including higher-than-expected medicine usage, procurement delays, quality failures and technical issues. “For example, there are cases where medicines have to be returned because of issues such as incorrect or missing labels. There are various problems associated with procurement, and the Ministry has to identify and overcome them,” he said.

He noted that several institutions are involved in the pharmaceutical sector, including the MSD, the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), with doctors responsible for prescribing medicines and surgical consumables.

He said the Health Ministry had already issued circulars instructing hospitals to make local purchases when necessary, but proper procurement should remain the priority to ensure the available funds are used effectively. “Whenever we resort to emergency purchases, we have to pay a higher price for the same item. Therefore, we should make every effort to carry out proper procurement,” he said.

Attempts to contact Deputy subject Minister Dr Hansaka Wijemuni and Health Ministry Secretary Dr Anil Jasinghe for further comment on the issue were unsuccessful.