Drug policy stuck for 4 years:Daily Sun

A mobile court of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in a drive on Saturday seals off Shahjalal General Hospital in the capital’s Agargaon and sentences six staff, including three fake doctors, to different terms of imprisonment for treating patients in unhealthy environment. The licence of the hospital expired in June last year. Kamrul Islam Ratan From 1940 to 2014, long 74 years in between. During Bri
tish, Pakistan and Bangladesh periods, many laws have been changed, modified or recast to meet the needs of the people, but no full fledged and time befitting law has yet been enacted about life-saving drugs. This important sector is being run by patching up the old law of 1940 through promulgation of ordinances occasionally. Although drug policy was formulated twice after independence it has lost effectiveness in most cases. The last grand alliance government took up the formulation of another new drug policy, but it has been stuck for 4 years. And the process of formulating a new drug act is going on very secretly during the present government. There are evil activities of some profit seeking drug traders behind both the processes of blocking the policy and formulation of law secretly. In this field they are trying to serve their own interest at the cost of the patients or public. The government side is also playing second fiddle to this evil design. It is learnt that through the loopholes of the patched up law and policy, one sort of dishonest business is growing fast in the drug industry. Despite having no own invention of medicine, the government and drug companies are proud of having self-reliance in medicines. Experts said indiscriminate sale of unnecessary, additional, substandard, smuggled and banned medicines is widespread. Harassment and confusion of people are on the rise. Taking substandard medicine has coincided with increase in side effect and secondary illness. Continuous price spiral of medicinal items has aggravated the situation. Besides, same medicine is being sold at various prices by the shopkeepers. The pharmaceutical companies are allegedly maintaining different qualities of their medicines for local and international markets. The quality of the medicine to be used by people at home and that of export product is not same. In such a situation, experts underscored the need for reforms to control the unethical practice by physicians, pharmaceutical companies and shopkeepers in the matters of quality of medicine, management, fixation of price and advertisement. They suggested the authorities concerned not to be bent on mere increasing the number of companies, volume of production and export. A pharmaceutical company owner said if a particular medicine is produced by four companies, the item should not be imported. But the market shows a different picture. On the other hand, the items banned in the country are being seen in the pharmacies. Experts said that 20 percent of the 20,000 allopathic medicines are substandard taking a total of 4,000 items. It is very usual that large number of spurious medicines has caused suffering and confusion among people. Even the physicians are confused. Many people claimed that the above situation prompted the authorities concerned to take initiative for a fresh health policy and law. The ruling Awami League had an election pledge ahead of 2008 parliamentary polls to update the drug policy to achieve self-sufficiency in drug sector and boost export volume. Such promise was enumerated in 11.3 no pledge. Besides, the party has a commitment for increasing the quality of homeopathic, unani and ayurvedic medicines. Sources at health and family planning ministry said rules were made on two occasions in 1945 and 1946 on the basis of Drug Act 1940. Later, Drug Control Ordinance was enacted twice in 1982 and 2006. A Drug Policy was adopted in 2005. To control drug price, another policy was taken. The country witnessed revolution in drug sector over the time. According to government statistics, the number of allopathic pharmaceutical companies is over 250. Around 20,000 drug items under generic medicine are being produced by these companies. On the other hand, 268 unani companies are producing 1,500 items, 201 ayurvedic companies 4,000 items and 100 homeopathic companies 1,000 brands taking a total of 30,000 items. Generic number of these medicines is over 1,200. Experts opined that the government should deal with the sector on priority basis. But the problem is that the government and pharmaceutical owners have been desperate to give it a commercial shape. As such, the public interest is being ignored. If and when the government tries to take a decision, the company owners raise their voice and protest it publicly. At last, the government gives in to their pressure. Against this backdrop, the fate of proposed drug law and policy is being affected. Maj gen Md Jahangir Hossain, DG of Directorate of Drug Administration, said the country is going to get a complete drug law after a gap of 74 years. Preparation of adopting a drug policy is underway. After getting law and policy, drug entrepreneurs as well as common people will be benefited. Discipline in drug production and marketing will be ensured. Prof Dr Rashid-e-Mahmud, former president of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) and Chairman of Health Movement National Committee told this correspondent, “It was the promise of the present government to formulate a time-worthy drug policy. But there is no progress in this regard at all. Also there is a question to what extent the policy will be free from the control of the drug industry owners. So it is necessary to formulate an effective drug policy which will be beneficial to the people.” A senior entrepreneur, close to the medicine manufacturing company, said, “Many of us do not understand difference between drug sector and other sector. They want to make huge profit from this sector like other businesses. As a result, immoral activities have been started in the sector compared to earlier.” Expressing concern, the entrepreneur said, government has no control in the country’s drug sector. Citing example, he said; think about widely-known, Paracetamol. Some 110 drug manufacturing companies are producing this Paracetamol tablet including oral liquid, suppository and tablet categories. But physicians are prescribing Paracetamol of only 8 to 10 companies. The reason is known to all that the rest of the Paracetamol tablets are not up to the mark. In addition government is giving approval to many companies to produce the item. When asked about drug policy, Abdul Muktadi, General Secretary of Bangladesh Aushad Shilpa Samity told this correspondent, “Government is formulating policy and law. When government wants opinion then we gave our opinion about the issue. Besides, we have no pressure or influence about the issue.” The leader of the association said that there should have scope for opinion in the field of law. All will be able to know when it will go to Jatiya Sangsad. He demands that nobody took opinion from them while formulating draft of the law. Sources at Health Ministry said as part of the good intention of the government, a committee was formed in 2010 at national level with a view to formulating a time befitting drug policy based on the review of national drug policy of 1982 and 2005. The committee was formed comprising 14 members that involved two lawmakers, representative of drug administration, pharmacist, doctors, pharmaceutical company and concerned reprSubsequently Subsequently, the committee formed another sub-committee headed by Prof ABM Faruk of Pharmacy Department of Dhaka University for preparing a primary draft reviewing previous drug policy. The committee will submit the draft to the main committee and also the main committee will send it to the ministry concerned after completing another step based on discussion, review and opinion. In the same way the ministry will discuss, review and add or subtract recommendations on it and will send to the committee. Finally, the main committee will send it to the Parliament after making a final draft. The process did not advance due to legal steps taken by pharmacists though it got some progress. Taking back the draft from the ministry, it is being prepared for a second time. On the other hand, the draft of new law has already been submitted in the ministry. Selim Barami, director of the Drug Administration said at one stage the draft of medicine policy was brought back from the ministry following a court order though the draft was almost final. Now the draft is being prepared as per the direction of court. He also said not only the policy; the task of new law— being prepared considering all previous laws and ordinances— has got some progress. Prof ABM Faruk of Pharmacy Department of Dhaka University, who was the head of the sub-committee said, “We sent the draft after making it final. Now I am unaware what happened later. And no one asked me in this regard.” The expert also said, “We think that an acceptable drug policy is not possible if only the interest of pharmaceutical company owners is given priority. The interest of common people should be given priority first.” Another Professor Md Muniruddin of the same institution said, “A law can be enacted after taking opinions of all. But there is no reflection of public opinion in case of medicine law. We even cannot find the draft of this law while common people seeing it is beyond imagination.”