A report of Independent Monitoring Unit of Health Department states that 53 percent of population is out of the vaccines and medicines coverage and the government has set the target of ensuring access to 90 percent population for preventive care with vaccines and regular treatment of various diseases with life saving medicines in the government hospitals. The report has also indicated the shortage of life saving medicines in emergency and intensive care units of hospitals.
Despite the availability of scientific and technical knowhow and research infrastructure vaccines for the preventive care are not produced in the country. The federal and provincial governments have to solely depend for the vaccines supply on World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF. The research facility like National Health Laboratories has been made redundant. Likewise, industry for producing raw material for pharmaceuticals has not been encouraged and promoted and prices of medicines manufactured from imported raw material have abnormally gone up. It explains the non-availability of medicines in government hospitals. The federal cabinet has approved lowering of medicines’ prices but the decision could not be implemented because of certain legal obstacles. The federal government and representatives of pharmaceutical firms can find out a negotiated solution for lowering the prices of medicines.
