A total of 33 essential medicines are currently unavailable, according to the Health Ministry. The availability of essential medicines has improved, with 585 of the 618 essential medicines currently available, giving an availability rate of 94.66 per cent, Health Minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa said.
Responding to questions raised in Parliament by Opposition Parliamentarian S M Marikkar during question time yesterday (22), Dr Jayatissa said that there are 886 medicines on the Ministry’s priority list, including 618 essential medicines. He said that, of them, all 13 life-saving medicines are available.
Dr Jayatissa said the Government is working to increase the availability of essential medicines to around 98–99%, while steps had also been taken to address shortages through the procurement process. He said that the Ministry is using the Integrated Treasury Management Information System to pay suppliers for medicines procured, while institutions had also been given approval to make local purchases when medicines are unavailable through the normal procurement process. He also referred to outstanding payments to suppliers, including local pharmaceutical manufacturers, as part of the wider procurement and supply situation. In further response, he said that the Government has provided funds for local purchases of medicines to address shortages caused by supplier issues, procurement problems and suppliers failing to provide medicines after accepting ordeRs He said that the quantities of medicines supplied by the Medical Supplies Division are recorded in the Ministry’s Swastha system, which is used to monitor their availability. Dr Jayatissa said that the necessary funds had been provided to obtain medicines through local purchases, and that, once this is completed, medicine availability could be increased to 98%–99%.
Meanwhile, responding to further queries on hospital expenditure, Dr Jayatissa said that Rs 5,600 million had been spent on electricity, Rs 1,005 million on water, Rs 2,224 million on food and Rs 279 million on laundry. He said that the annual allocations for these four areas are Rs 9,476 million for electricity, Rs 1,500 million for water, Rs 5,170 million for food and Rs 350 million for laundry, with a total allocation of Rs 16,496 million.