Baghlan residents complain about high prices and poor-quality medicine

BAGHLAN (TOLONews): A number of Baghlan residents are complaining about the poor quality and high prices of medicine in some pharmacies in the province.

According to them, the continuous prescription of these medicines by doctors has had no positive effect on their treatment, and they are urging officials to pay serious attention to this issue.

“We’ve taken our patients to doctors several times, but the medicines were low quality and didn’t work,” Mohammad Yaqoob, a resident of Baghlan province, told TOLOnews. “There’s a world of difference between the medicines we bought from Pakistan and those sold here. The company name is the same, but their quality varies greatly.”

Mohammad Atiq, another resident of Baghlan province, said: “Before, when you bought medicine, the price was written and stamped on the back of the packet, and you could ask about it. But now, pharmacies sell medicine for whatever price they want, and you’re forced to pay. They don’t even give a 10 Afghani discount, and ultimately, their medicines are low quality.”

Many Baghlan residents claim that in many cases, using these low-quality medicines has worsened patients’ health conditions. They are calling on officials, especially the Public Health Directorate of the province, to give serious attention to this matter.

Hazratuddin, a resident of Baghlan province, said: “Our expectation from officials is to monitor pharmacies, inquire about prices, check the quality of medicines, and then allow these medicines to be imported. But when medicines enter the country from every border and corner without official oversight, it’s clear they’ll be low quality.”

Shirullah, a resident of Baghlan province, said: “We bought medicine for two or three months, and we’ve been buying heart medicine for almost two years, but it doesn’t do any good. We just buy expensive medicine, but we don’t see any benefit from it.”

However, the Baghlan Public Health Directorate says that its inspection teams monitor pharmacies and wholesale drug suppliers daily in the center and districts of the province, and they don’t allow anyone to engage in price gouging or sell low-quality medicines.

Abdul Qahar Ahmadi, head of the Baghlan Public Health Directorate, told TOLOnews: “Our teams inspect clinics, wholesalers, pharmacies, and retail drugstores daily to ensure they don’t sell low-quality or expired medicines. Our procedures, which we have from the Ministry of Public Health, are implemented daily.”

This comes as some doctors in the province had previously warned that using low-quality medicines not only has no positive effect on patient treatment but can sometimes lead to side effects and even patient deaths.