Pakistan is experiencing a severe shortage of life-saving medicines, including insulin and 79 other vital drugs. The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has warned that this crisis threatens the lives of millions of patients across the country.
According to PMA, about 80 essential medicines are unavailable, and 25 of these have no substitutes. These include drugs for diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart diseases, and mental health conditions. The shortage is causing patients’ health to rapidly deteriorate and leading to serious complications.
For example, the unavailability of long-acting insulin is causing diabetic patients to lose control over their blood sugar. This raises risks of kidney failure, vision loss, and amputations. Similarly, transplant patients face life-threatening fungal infections due to a shortage of critical antifungal drugs.
The PMA has urged the government to take immediate and decisive action to control this crisis. They demand the approval of a new drug pricing policy that reflects production costs to encourage medicine availability. They also called for a crackdown on the uncontrolled black market, which has caused prices to soar—insulin vials now cost three times more in illegal markets.
Additionally, PMA criticized the Pakistan Drug Regulatory Authority (DRAP) for failing to ensure safe and effective medicine supplies. They demand DRAP be held accountable and urged the formation of a powerful task force including health ministry officials, PMA, and pharmaceutical representatives. This group should have the authority to make urgent decisions on imports, licensing, and production to end the shortage swiftly.