In an eerily familiar manner, the economic crunch has greased the wheels of yet another crisis: a shortage of essential drugs. While patients across the length and breadth of the country scamper from pharmacy to pharmacy; hoping that someone, somewhere would prove to be a messiah and allay their pain, the only official response has been an awkward conceding note. The authorities in Sindh are seeking reports from concerned officials as the black marketeers sharpen their knives to earn a profit off spurious drugs. Markets have already flooded with smuggled and counterfeit medicines and there’s no knowing if and when any tranquility or respite would arise. For now, Pakistan is banking on support from a longstanding friend, Iran, to help hammer out the details of a stopgap arrangement regarding the uninterrupted supply of life-saving drugs. Crackdowns against hoarders might also provide some semblance of relief but the government has been down this road far too many times than it might have hoped. Drugmakers have been repeatedly ringing the alarm bells about the manufacturing costs creeping out of their reach but sadly, nothing was done beyond lip service to ease their troubles. A crippling lack of forex reserves has hampered the overall capacity to import medicines as well as the raw materials used to manufacture drugs locally. Dozens of non-essential medicines cannot be found anywhere simply because the manufacturers have significantly reduced their stocks. A country cannot be expected to continue in a state where it appears unable to provide fundamental rights of healthcare to its citizens. It would be a moot point to argue how this healthcare should have been free of cost and at par with international standards. Today, patients need medicines and drugmakers, an immediate answer to their cries for help. Redefining the role of drug associations and measures to control black markets so that healthy competition becomes the only regulator, can wait for another day. *